THE POLITICS OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN JAPAN - MORE STRATEGIES, LESS PROGRESS

The Japanese government's desire to initiate change is fueled by a num ber of recent as well as longstanding issues, such as reform, electora l-process, political corruption, the rising deficit, tax cuts, crisis management after the Kobe earthquake, deregulation and the decentraliz ation of government. In the 1990s, the prime ministers have attempted administrative reform, these issues working with the bureaucrats in th e ministries and the political parties in the Diet on these pressing i ssues. Through the grueling process of compromise, the Japanese govern ment has made some progress, namely tax cuts and political reform. Par ticularly since 1993, there has been an unusually strong tide of refor m, and it is still growing. The drive to reform the national bureaucra cy presents local governments with an opportunity to shape their insti tutions and to assert the power of local governments (prefectures and municipalities) to decide and control local priorities. The resistance to administrative reform comes mainly from the bureaucrats and the po liticians at the national level. This article attempts to explain the malaise in Japanese politics and bureaucracy, and, more important, to argue that the reform movement is, by its very nature, incremental, an d that it has been held back largely by the bureaucrats and the ruling political party.