Untying 'postretirement' jobs
(From The Japan Times Feb. 16 issue)

再就職と省庁との関係を絶つこと

Prime Minister Taro Aso has come out rather harsh against the job-placement practices of bureaucrats in postretiretment. But it is unclear whether this change of mind will lead to effective control of the practices criticized for giving unfair advantages to bureaucrats.

The practice of retired bureaucrats landing lucrative jobs at entities under the jurisdictions of the ministries or agencies that they worked for is called amakudari (descent from heaven). Repeatedly landing such posts for a short stint and collecting retirement allowances each time is called watari (migration). Most such bureaucrats retire before reaching retirement age.

On Jan. 29, Mr. Aso indicated that he will prohibit government ministries and agencies from making arrangements for watari. Nevertheless, he did not touch on a December government ordinance that allows watari in extremely exceptional cases over the next three years. Opposition forces had called for rescinding this ordinance.

Then, on Feb. 3, Mr. Aso said the government will enact an ordinance, effective in 2010, that prohibits ministries and agencies from making arrangements for either amakudari or watari. In December, the government set up a public-private personnel exchange promotion center to match retiring bureaucrats with companies and organizations just once. The center is to start functioning in 2011.

Regardless of whether the center functions properly or not, retired bureaucrats who have landed jobs may offer their jobs to, or make arrangements for, newly retiring bureaucrats. So the new ordinance proposed by Mr. Aso will have little effect and watari may even continue.

A simple solution would be to prohibit bureaucrats from landing jobs, through any arrangement, at entities operating under the auspices of their former ministries and agencies. To make this work, the government will need to establish a system in which bureaucrats continue to work until retirement age. It will also have to devise a way to curb personnel costs even if old bureaucrats increase in number.

麻生首相は官僚への就職斡旋の慣行に厳しい態度を示したが、慣行の規制につながるかは疑問だ。天下りとは、官僚OBが在職していた省庁が管轄する団体などに高額報酬で就くこと、渡りは短期間に再就職を繰り返し、退職金を何度も得ることだ。多くは省庁を早期退職している。

総理は先月、省庁斡旋の渡り廃止を表明した。今月に入って総理は、天下りも渡りも禁止する政令制定を表明。官僚OBを1回のみ再就職支援する官民人材交流センターは、昨年発足し2011年に本格稼動を予定している。

官僚OBは新たに退職する官僚に就職を斡旋する可能性があり、新政令の効き目は疑わしい。単純な策は天下り撤廃だが、官僚が定年退職でき、高齢官僚の人件費を抑える制度が必要だ。