TOKYO, June 29, 2021—Two ‘career bureaucrats’ of the Japanese trade ministry were arrested by Japanese police June 25 for allegedly fabricating documents to successfully swindling $50,000 of Covid-19 rescue money from the ministry’s subordinate agency in charge of the rescue program, a Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry spokeswoman confirmed Japanese media reports to The Prospect June 29. While the media reported the news factually as a top straight news story in newspapers, television and other media, none of them did a deep dive into the incident – despite the fact that it has potentially far-reaching, almost unfathomable ramifications.
In a nutshell, the latest and many other recent incidents involving bureaucrats can be summarized as ‘an unstoppable, Casandra Cross-like decline’ of the Japanese bureaucracy’ or an accelerated bureaucratization, diminishing sense of guilt in committing illegal and unethical acts, and growing childishness of Japanese society. And Japanese society, including politicians from far ago but also increasingly the private sector, is becoming numb to serious developments because of rapidly changing societal norms.
‘If you are bold enough that you won’t get caught, people commit murders and stealing properties more easily,’ is almost a new societal dictum. In fact, this is the thinking planted by the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who committed several highly questionable transactions and quit his post just because prosecutors were zeroing in on him. Abe taught the play to the current PM, Suga, and people, especially young generations that saw what Abe did were clearly emboldened to follow through.
METI Bureaucrats Arrested
Makoto Sakurai, 28, the deputy manager of the Industry Finance Division of MEI’I’s Industrial Policy Bureau, the ministry’s most powerful bureau, and Yuichiro Arai, also 28, deputy manager of the same bureau’s Industry Organization Division, told police that the pair conspired to swindle taxpayer money, according to Japanese media reports.
The two career bureaucrats had founded and registeed a permanent establishment, a paper company on trademarks, designs, and intellectual property, in Tokyo, Shin Sakura Shoji in November 2019. They then fabricated bogus housing rent contracts that said the company had been paying $20,000 a month in rents to three ‘rental’ houses – Arai’s Tokyo home and his relative’s home as well as Sakurai’s parents’ home in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo – all of them false rental transactions, according to media reports quoting police investigators.
Sakurai had purchased luxury brand watches, drove two foreign luxury cars, and was living in a condominium for monthly rental fees estimated at no less than $5,000, which is high by Tokyo standards.
Whether those reports are accurate aside and police charges yet to be leveled against them, it was clear that the two bureaucrats deviated from core bureaucracy work codes and ethics – that government officials are banned from moonlighting and working for private-sector businesses during their active duty as officers. Their acts sharply contravened with centuries-long core Samurai ethos that they must remain bleached clean in character and deeds.
That they successfully swindled Covid-19 rescue funds from METI’s Small and Medium Size Enterprise Agency, the ministry’s subdivision, despite the fact that they do not belong to the agency, also suggested that career bureaucrats can prevail over non-careers and crush any protests and doubts expressed by non-careers.
That the two founded and registered Shin Sakura Shoji in November 2019 – before the Covid-19 pandemic – without drawing METI’s peer reviews and doubts also suggested that they were planning a business for a long-time and possibly generated income even before the outbreak. What they were able to do showed a total lack of intra governance in the ministry deferring to individual ‘career’ bureaucrats to exercise their ethics in decision-making.
Women’s Toilet Photo Shooting
On April 23, a METI official, whose name was not disclosed, sneaked into a women’s toilet in the Diet (parliament) building and took smart phone photos of a lady, according to Japanese media. He was nabbed by Diet security guards, the reports said.
###
Insight Into the Future