2008 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Country Facts: Statistical context for each country.

Japan's overall anti-corruption performance is solid, but significant challenges remain in judicial accountability and the oversight of political financing. The process for judicial appointments is rigorous, with judges being seen in Japan as the "cleanest" public officials. This public trust translates into lax laws surrounding the judiciary, as judges are exempt from the accountability regulations laid out in the National Public Service Act and the National Public Service Ethics Law. Other weak accountability mechanisms across government include the fact that Japanese legislators can keep their private sector jobs while in public service. In addition, private election fundraising groups are commonly established for individual candidates' political campaigns, thereby allowing them to bypass laws against corporate donations. An election monitoring organization exists, but it has no means of prosecution or implementation; instead "oversight is left to civil society."