Politicization of civil service Japanese-style: politico-bureaucratic relations under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2012–2020)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Japan’s politico-bureaucratic relations were substantially reshaped during LDP Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s tenure of 2012–2020. Politicization of the civil service promptly progressed, making traditionally independent-minded bureaucrats visibly more submissive to politicians’ commands. This decline of bureaucratic clout happened by design as the result of major institutional reforms promoted by reformers since the 1990s. This article analyzes the forms of politicization under the Abe administration, finding that Japanese bureaucratic institutions and broader political environments made its style unique, including the birth of a new breed of bureaucrats known as ‘kantei kanryo.’ It is also pointed out that while politicization is overall a desirable development to make Japanese policy-making more responsive to shifting societal demands, the current way of politicization causes unwanted by-products also: increased risks of corruption, distortions in bureaucratic organizational behavior, and the lowering of civil servants’ morale. Further, it is argued that with the virtual absence of the possibility of ruling-party changes, the loss of bureaucratic autonomy results in the lessening of the policy-making system’s ability to scrutinize the cabinet’s policies critically.