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2007 Assessment

Japan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Japan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Service Regulations
Indicators		Score
41	Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?	75
42	Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?	75
43	Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?	54
44	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?	0

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there national regulations for the civil service encompassing, at least, the managerial and professional staff?

41a: In law, there are regulations requiring an impartial, independent and fairly managed civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments: Yes, there are regulations requiring an impartial, independent and fairly managed civil service.

References: Articles 102 and 103 of the National Public Service Act of 1947.

41b: In law, there are regulations to prevent nepotism, cronyism, and patronage within the civil service.

Score:

YES

Comments: Yes, there are regulations to prevent cronyism, and patronage in the civil service.

References: Articles 15 of the Japanese Constitution. Articles 96, 74, 46 and 33 of the National Public Service Act of 1947.

41c: In law, there is an independent redress mechanism for the civil service.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a mechanism to which civil servants and applicants for the civil service can take grievances regarding civil service management actions. Civil servants are able to appeal the mechanism\'s decisions to the judiciary. NO: A NO score is earned if no such mechanism exists.$

Comments: Yes, civil servants and applicants for the civil service can make grievances regarding civil service management actions.

References: Civil servants are able to appeal the mechanism's decisions to the judiciary. Article 92-2 of the National Public Service Act of 1947.

41d: In law, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no clear-cut provision as such, but in practice civil servants convicted of corruption are often prohibited from future government employment.

References: JH: SS GAVE A SCORE OF 100 WITH A RESPONSE OF NO IN THE SCORE COLUMN IN THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET. No specific provision in the National Public Service Act of 1947.

Is the law governing the administration and civil service effective?

42a: In practice, civil servants are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice senior, civil servants are prone to be affected from political influence. Mr. Moriya, the then secretary general of the Defence Ministry was asked to resign the post and be replaced by the junior officer recommeded by Ms. Y. Koike Minister herself. Mr. Moriya refused and instead proposed the other candidate as his successor. The Minister refused the proposal . There was intervention by cabinet secretariate, and the new officer was appointed to the post instead in August 2007. Ms. Koike voluntarily resigned her post as Minster.

References: Media reports. Permanent Vice-Minister of Self Defense Ministry was forced to resign from the office due to the difference in view with the minister in charge.

42b: In practice, civil servants are appointed and evaluated according to professional criteria.

Score:

100

Comments: Promotion within ministries is not always merit-based. In most cases, this is true, but occasionaly, appointement and evaluation are made not reccessarily based on professional criteria.

References: Articles 33, 36 and 37, 57, and 72 of National Public Service Act of 1947. Anonymous interview.

Peer Review Comments: Initial recruitment to the civil service is made on the basis of open competition. Thereafter seniority, rather than aptitude, continues to be one of the main criteria used in deciding on promotions.

42c: In practice, civil service management actions (e.g. hiring, firing, promotions) are not based on nepotism, cronyism, or patronage.

Score:

100

Comments: Neverthless, there do exist the patronage based on school clans and others.

References: Articles 33, 36 and 37, 57, and 72 of National Public Service Act of 1947. Interview with Mr. Tsunekawa, ex-Ambassador of Japan to Guinea in July, 2007.

Peer Review Comments: Patronage networks within ministries are certainly an important factor.

42d: In practice, civil servants have clear job descriptions.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servants almost always have formal job descriptions establishing levels of seniority, assigned functions, and compensation. Job descriptions are a reliable means to map positions to both human capital requirements (including the position\'s authority and responsibilities) and base pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servants often have formal job descriptions, but exceptions exist. Some civil servants may not be part of the formal assignment of duties and compensations. Some job descriptions may not map clearly to pay or responsibilities in some cases. 0 Score Criteria: Civil servants do not have formal roles or job descriptions. If they do, such job descriptions have little or nothing to do with the position\'s responsibilities, authority, or pay.$

Comments: Civil servants don't have clear job descriptions. Jobs are described in a general way, which allows flexibility in dealing with newly emerged tasks.

References: There is Position Classification Act of 1947 modeled from U.S. law, but it has never been practiced due to the difference in administrative culture. Civil Service Act of Japan. Interview with Mr.Shimizu of National Personnel Authority, Government of Japan, March, 2007.

42e: In practice, civil servant bonuses constitute only a small faction of total pay.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses constitute no more than 10% of total pay and do not represent a major element of take-home pay. 50 Score Criteria: Civil servant bonuses are generally a small percentage of total take-home pay for most civil servants though exceptions exist where some civil servants\' bonuses represent a significant part of total pay. 0 Score Criteria: Most civil servants receive bonuses that represent a significant amount of total take-home pay. In some cases bonuses represent the majority of total pay to civil servants.$

Comments: It sometimes amounts to 5.45 times of a monthly salary per year. The personal evaluation system has now come to influence the ratio of bonuses of individual civil servants.

References: Hearing from the National Personnel Authority and Mr.K.Shimizu of NPA, Gov't of Japan. The Annual Report of the National Personnel Authority. Interview with Ms. K. Fujisaki of National Personnel Authority, Government of Japan. October 2007.

42f: In practice, the government publishes the number of authorized civil service positions along with the number of positions actually filled.

Score:

100

Comments: JH: SS PUT A SCORE OF "YES" IN THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET. The government publishes such list regularly.

References: The National Personnel Authority Act of 1947.

42g: In practice, the independent redress mechanism for the civil service is effective.

Score:

100

Comments: Effective except for the issues related to political nature. Appeals related to adverse action counted 32 cases and 23 cases were withdrawn or rejected during fiscal year 2005.

References: The NPA Regulation Article 13-1 and 13-2.

42h: In practice, in the past year, the government has paid civil servants on time.

Score:

100

Comments: No civil servants have been paid late in the past.

References: The White Paper on National Public Service. Annual Reports of the National Personnel Authority. Interview with Ms. K. Fujisaki, an officer of NPA, Government of Japan.

42i: In practice, civil servants convicted of corruption are prohibited from future government employment.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no such formal system, but in practice, it seems to be working that way.

References: Interview with a senior official in the Cabinet Secretariate who wished his name is not disclosed.

Are there regulations addressing conflicts of interest for civil servants?

43a: In law, there are requirements for civil servants to recuse themselves from policy decisions where their personal interests may be affected.

Score:

YES

Comments: In practice, there is a tendency for civil servants to recuse themselves from policy decision, despite that there is not a written provision as such in the National Public Service Act of 1947 or other acts/regulations.

References: Related articles are 102 and 103 of National Public Act of 1947.

43b: In law, there are restrictions for civil servants entering the private sector after leaving the government.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are regulations restricting civil servants\' ability to take positions in the private sector after leaving government that would present a conflict of interest, including positions that directly seek to influence their former government colleagues. NO: A NO score is earned if no such restrictions exist.$

Comments: But in practice, this is not well observed. This depends on the status of the civil servant and also on the period of reemployment to the private enterprise. Permission by the National Personnel Authorty will normally be granted even within two years of the cooling-off period.

References: Article 103 of the National Public Service Act.

43c: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: In practice, this does not seem to be well observed.

References: The National Public Service Ethics Act (Act No.120 of 1947). [ LINK ]

43d: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: In fact, re-employment by private as well semi-government sectors is being commonly practiced despite public criticism.

References: Hearing from the National Personnel Authority. News media (e.g. The Asahi Shinbun, June 27 2007. P.1). Anonymous interview.

Peer Review Comments: The practice of amakudari (descent from heaven), whereby retiring bureaucrats find jobs in the private sector, remains commonplace, despite widespread criticism. A press report from the Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 19, 2007) found that 16 out of 47 prefectural governments and 15 major cities had no rules restricting amakudari. None of the local governments had introduced penalties for people violating the rules.

43e: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to civil servants are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: It seems to be carried out secretly, not only by the high-ranking officials, but also by low- and middle- ranking ones.

References: The National Service Act. [ LINK ]

Penal Code. [ LINK ]

A recent one is the case of an ex-Secretary General of Ministry of Defense who used to receive gifts and entertainments during his office (the Moriya Case, Nov. 2007) "The Top Ten Cases of Corruption of the Year in Japan", published annually from Transparency Japan.

Peer Review Comments: Breaking the law is very risky for civil servants.

Peer Review Comments: The investigation of the former vice defense minister, Takemasa Moriya, in late November 2007 concerns gifts and hospitality. According to press reports (Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan Times, Nov. 29, 2007), he and his wife are suspected of having accepted hospitality (e.g., golf trips) to the tune of 3.89 million yen (US$34,653) on a dozen occasions between August 2003 and May 2005. If the system does not work at the top, it is doubtful that it does so at more junior levels.

43f: In practice, the requirements for civil service recusal from policy decisions affecting personal interests are effective.

Score:

100

Comments: It seems to be a matter of common sense among civil servants despite the lack of formal regulations. Ordinary civil servants in Japan are believed to be honest and committed to their work and avoid unfair decision-making when there is conflict of interest.

References: No such law.

Peer Review Comments: Civil servants as well as politicians are involved in bid-rigging scandals, and in those cases obviously are acting in their own personal interests. I'd therefore add a note of caution to the effect that common sense does not always apply.

Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants?

44a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants.

Score:

YES

Comments: Not yet in Japan. Civil Servant of special category such as Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament is obliged to make report, and this information is open for public. But civil servant of ordinary category is not required to file report on his/her assets, hence no assets disclosure.

References: No legal requirements.

44b: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: No formal separate mechanism apart from Access to Information regime, and no such disclosure requirements exist in law for the vast majority of civil servants.

References: Act on Access to Information held by Administrative Organs (Act No.42 of 1999). [ LINK ].

44c: In practice, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of senior civil servants at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Not special legal guarantee yet in Japan, except for a special category of civil servants such as members of the Diet and of local assemblies, and requesting through the Access to Information regime.

References: Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of 2003). [ LINK ]

Act on the Protection of Personal Information held by Administrative Organs (Act No.42 of 1999). [ LINK ]