Japanese Bureaucracies Off Track

Japan’s institutional characteristics have always revealed distinct differences from that of the United States and the rest of the world. Having a society based on cultural and historical practices, Japan’s unique customs have become apparent through the years in government policy both public and private. Its’ private and industrial sectors have always been criticized for inefficiencies related to the performance of the Japanese economy; however, these do not explain the story in its entirety. The underpinnings of the recent factors leading to Japan’s flawed economy can be traced back to the lawmakers themselves, the Japanese bureaucrats. Japanese bureaucrats are, in fact, the most crucial elements of national policymaking. Japanese bureaucracies, as a whole, are inefficient. In an article written by Donald J. Senese, “Privatizing Japan’s Railroads”, he pinpoints the elevating deficits and the rising costs as a problem within the bureaucracy. As a major steel producer and supplier, Japan was heavily praised for its railroads and “bullet trains”. It only seems reasonable that the government be the sole provider of railroads since it exhibits public good characteristics. Therefore, the management of Japan’s railroads have fallen into the hands of the government, in particular, the bureaucrats. Unfortunately, with no incentives to seek profits, the costs of operating and maintaining the railroad systems have accumulated. As these costs keep growing the taxpayers are being forced to pay more for goods and services to meet these additional costs. Senese points out that government bureaucrats, while working to improve the public good, have even more incentive to better themselves even at the cost of the public. He argues that the public interest is not being dealt with correctly by the bureaucrats as can be seen by the numerous inefficiencies and the failure of the bureaucrats themselves to help amend the situation. Senese also pointed out the inefficiencies associated with the bureaucrats control over telecommunications. Japan, through the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), became the second largest telecommunications system in the world. After the NTT was handed over to the private sector and renamed the NTT Corporation, the public interest was dealt with more efficiently and properly. This, in turn, resulted in higher profits, lower prices, and consumers acquiring many of the benefits. The authority held by Japanese bureaucracies without a doubt surpasses that of the power of United States bureaucracies. This unreasonable amount of bureaucratic power through government monopoly prevents the existence of competitiveness, creativeness, and technological advancement associated with less bureaucratic control.