2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Reform of the Postal System and the Transformation of Civil Space-A Practical Comparism of NZ and Japan.
| Project/Area Number |
17530106
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Politics
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
SWALE Alistair Kyoto University, Graduate School of Law, Associate Professor, 大学院法学研究科, 助教授 (00378506)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MABUCHI Masaru Kyoto University, Graduate School of Law, Professor., 大学院法学研究科, 教授 (70165934)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Keywords | Postal Service / Privatization / Public Space / Universal Service / ユニバーサルサービス |
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| Research Abstract |
The project's aim was to consider the implications of full privatization of the postal service in Japan by conducting a comparative survey with the postal reforms carried out at New Zealand Post since 1987. After an initial investigative phase the research has entailed the extensive surveying of data covering the decision-making process and the outcomes of postal reform in NZ and Japan. Quantitative surveying of public perceptions of the reform of NZ Post has also been carried out and is written up.
One of the additional objectives of the research is to critically evaluate the current undertaking to privatize the postal service giving particular attention to the implications of privatization for citizenship and the continuity of the public sphere. This has included making an in-depth reassessment of the lengthy tenure of Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro whose postal reforms have been hailed as the decisive event in that period of government.
In conclusion the report presents an outline of key areas of relevance, particularly the difficulties of surmounting the constraints of universal service and generating genuine market-based competition. The role of semi-independent watch-dog agencies such as Postcomm in the UK and CCMAU in NZ are highlighted in relation to the regulation of the postal sector.
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