A comparative study of contemporarya Japanese bureaucracy: Using game theory, quantitative analysis, and historical analysis.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03468
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: SOGA Kengo 京都大学, 公共政策連携研究部, 教授 (60261947)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 中央省庁 / 官邸主導 / 専門性 / 分立 / 統合

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research reveals how contemporary Japanese bureaucracy makes public policies and what function it has in the present Japanese society and economy. Firstly, the politicalization and centralization of core executives in Japanese central ministries are in the middle of the developed countries. The administrative reforms in budgetary makings and regulatory processes has shown incremental process. Secondly, the institutional features caused the above characteristics. Election systems and the relation between legislature and the cabinets moved to the centralized way. At the same time, Central-local relations and judiciary systems has got a decentralized aspects. The combinations of these contradict institutional changes affect Japanese bureaucracy. Thirdly, the result is that Japanese bureaucracy is unable to utilize their expertise, informations and knowledges in one respect and respond the policy demands. This is one reason of Japanese stalemate in the society and economy.

Free Research Field

行政学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現代日本の官僚制が，2000年代以降どのような変容を見せたのかを包括的に明らかにすることにより，行政学における実証分析の水準を向上させることに貢献した．数理モデル，計量分析，歴史的な叙述を組み合わせるという方法論上の工夫により，これまでにはない形で，種々の論点を体系的に取り扱うことができたからである．
とりわけ，現在の第二次以降の安倍政権の下で，行政官僚制がどのような変化を見せているのかについては，まだ多くの研究があるとはいえないところであるが，官邸主導の影響を明らかにすることにより，学術上のみならず，現代日本政治の実態を理解し，政策形成の質を高めるという実践的課題に答える基盤を提供した．