Government Declaration

December 4, 1997
(Provisional Translation)

The Government of Japan has today decided that it will respect the contents of the final report of the Administrative Reform Council to the greatest degree possible and immediately adopt preparatory arrangements for the tasks including the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies.

This report adopts as its basic principle that, based on a careful consideration of Japan's future, the country's administrative system, which has ceased to fit the times with the passage of five decades since the end of World War II, must be thoroughly reformed into one suited to the formation of a free and fair society for the twenty-first century in order to create a society full of vigor and confidence. The report contains a broad range of contents related to the achievement of this objective, covering such areas as the strengthening of the Cabinet's functions, the proper new shape for central government ministries and agencies, the downsizing and improvement of the efficiency of administrative functions, and reform of the civil service.

The Government will present a basic legislative bill for the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies and other necessary measures to the next ordinary session of the National Diet and seek its passage. After this bill is passed, the Government will carry out the necessary preparations for the shift to the new organizational setup, including relevant legislative measures, aiming to commence this shift within no more than five years, and if possible, by January 1, 2001, when the twenty-first century will begin.

The process of administrative reform, however, is still in midcourse. Rather, we are only at a new starting point for further review of the essence of public administration and of how the national government should involve itself with local governments and with the population. In addition, administrative reform alone would not suffice; it must serve as a catalyst, so to speak, for the efforts to achieve a comprehensive transformation of our country's postwar social and economic systems. Towards this end, the Government will continue to devote its utmost energies to the achievement of reforms not only in public administration but also in the other five areas it has targeted, namely, fiscal structure, social security, economic structure, the financial system, and education.

The Government hereby reaffirms its strong determination to accomplish these reforms and requests the further understanding and cooperation of the nation.