Administrative issues such as digitization and measures against infectious disease are becoming complex and specialized. The Cabinet Office and each ministry and agency must create an environment in which talented people can display their abilities.
The National Personnel Authority has recommended that the annual bonuses for national public servants in fiscal 2020 should be lowered by 0.05 month of salary from the previous year, to 4.45 months.
It would be the first reduction in the bonuses since 2010, following the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. With bonuses paid by private companies decreasing due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, it is reasonable to balance bonuses in the public and private sectors.
The recommendation this year came two months later than usual, and the NPA plans to make a separate recommendation on public servants' monthly pay later. This is an irregular action, but it is hoped that the NPA will deal with the issue flexibly.
In its report on personnel management, the NPA said, "It is a very important task to secure capable human resources," expressing its sense of urgency toward a trend of young people turning away from careers as national public servants. The number of applicants for the examination for career-track positions this fiscal year decreased by 3.3% from the previous year to 16,730, down for the fourth consecutive year.
The Cabinet Office and each ministry and agency are responsible for formulating important policies and appropriately executing them based on law. It is worrisome if the number of talented people who want to work in the private sector is increasing because they shy away from careers as national public servants. The government should analyze the causes of the decline and take countermeasures.
It is important to hasten work style reform in Kasumigaseki, the area of Tokyo known as the nation's bureaucratic nerve center. In a questionnaire survey by the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs, one in seven male national public servants under the age of 30 said that they wanted to quit within three years. As reasons, many said they found their jobs unappealing and were dissatisfied with long working hours.
Under such circumstances, in which young bureaucrats consider leaving their jobs, it is difficult to expect national public servants to deepen their expertise and effectively reflect it in their policies. It is necessary to review the nature of the organization so that national public servants can be motivated to perform their duties.
In line with the government's efforts to promote work style reform in the private sector from last year, a new rule was established to set a ceiling on overtime work of 360 hours per year in principle for national public servants, among others. It is urgent for the government to accurately grasp the reality of long working hours that are exhausting bureaucrats, and make efforts to improve the situation.
One of the causes of long working hours is the need to prepare to answer Diet interpellations. As Diet members are late in notifying subjects for interpellations beforehand, bureaucrats are forced to work till late at night preparing materials to be used in answering the interpellations. Bureaucrats are extremely busy explaining the materials for interpellations to Diet members, and some bureaucrats complain that they do have sufficient time to study policies.
One idea is that the government and the ruling and opposition parties will cooperate on establishing rules to strictly keep deadlines for advance notice of interpellations to bureaucrats, and using online conferences.
Scandals involving senior bureaucrats and others, such as the case of a former superintending prosecutor who played mahjong for money, and improper management of official documents, have caused public distrust and have dampened morale within organizations. Bureaucrats should keep in mind the need to abide by laws and regulations.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Oct. 9, 2020.
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