ID :
106456
Sun, 02/14/2010 - 06:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/106456
The shortlink copeid
Transparency in policymaking questioned as private panels formed+
TOKYO, Feb. 13 Kyodo -
Since the change of government in September, many of the government's legally
mandated advisory councils have been sitting idle, research by Kyodo News found
Saturday, raising questions about transparency in policymaking as private
organs are instead formed to play a greater consultative role for the
government.
The standstill apparently stems from a policy by the government led by the
Democratic Party of Japan to review the role of the advisory panels that Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama once said were used to ''help promote policymaking led
by bureaucrats.''
The DPJ won a general election last year by soliciting popular support for its
tenet of shifting initiative to elected officials from bureaucrats in
policymaking.
Advisory councils are formulated at various ministries and agencies in line
with provisions of the National Government Organization Act and other rules.
They comprise representatives of academia, industry, consumers and labor. Their
discussions are in principle conducted in public forums.
Under the DPJ-led government, however, a number of private consultative organs
have been set up such as those review teams comprising elected officials
appointed to serve at various ministries as well as other entities that do not
have any legal basis.
At the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, for instance, a
review of dam constructions nationwide has been undertaken by ''a conference of
experts'' set up by minister Seiji Maehara with conference members picked by
him and other top officials who, like Maehara, are lawmakers.
At the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the key issue of pension system
reform is discussed at a ''review team'' that directly reports to minister
Akira Nagatsuma.
The government's Tax Commission, which undertakes tax system reforms, has seen
its expert members replaced by top elected officials from each ministry. In the
process of conducting a review for fiscal 2010, however, they did not hear the
views of any experts.
Key issues were discussed by relevant Cabinet members in behind-the-door
consultations. In the final process, requests from the DPJ on important issues
were accepted uncritically, leaving an impression that decision-making
processes were not so transparent, sources familiar with the situation said.
==Kyodo
Since the change of government in September, many of the government's legally
mandated advisory councils have been sitting idle, research by Kyodo News found
Saturday, raising questions about transparency in policymaking as private
organs are instead formed to play a greater consultative role for the
government.
The standstill apparently stems from a policy by the government led by the
Democratic Party of Japan to review the role of the advisory panels that Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama once said were used to ''help promote policymaking led
by bureaucrats.''
The DPJ won a general election last year by soliciting popular support for its
tenet of shifting initiative to elected officials from bureaucrats in
policymaking.
Advisory councils are formulated at various ministries and agencies in line
with provisions of the National Government Organization Act and other rules.
They comprise representatives of academia, industry, consumers and labor. Their
discussions are in principle conducted in public forums.
Under the DPJ-led government, however, a number of private consultative organs
have been set up such as those review teams comprising elected officials
appointed to serve at various ministries as well as other entities that do not
have any legal basis.
At the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, for instance, a
review of dam constructions nationwide has been undertaken by ''a conference of
experts'' set up by minister Seiji Maehara with conference members picked by
him and other top officials who, like Maehara, are lawmakers.
At the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the key issue of pension system
reform is discussed at a ''review team'' that directly reports to minister
Akira Nagatsuma.
The government's Tax Commission, which undertakes tax system reforms, has seen
its expert members replaced by top elected officials from each ministry. In the
process of conducting a review for fiscal 2010, however, they did not hear the
views of any experts.
Key issues were discussed by relevant Cabinet members in behind-the-door
consultations. In the final process, requests from the DPJ on important issues
were accepted uncritically, leaving an impression that decision-making
processes were not so transparent, sources familiar with the situation said.
==Kyodo
