Japan Press Weekly

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2017 April 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

3 opposition parties jointly propose bill to control ‘parachuting’ by bureaucrats

The Japanese Communist Party and two other opposition parties on April 4 jointly submitted to the House of Representatives a bill to revise the National Public Service Act with the aim of strictly regulating the parachuting of retired bureaucrats to executive positions in private companies.

The three opposition parties drew up the bill after a string of systematic practices of “golden parachuting” in the Education Ministry came to light. The proposed measure intends to close a loophole in the act by banning former bureaucrats from helping government officials find well-paid jobs in the private sector.

The bill also prohibits government officials from being employed for at least two years after leaving office by commercial companies which had a close connection with state organizations to which those officials belonged in the last five years before retiring. This is a reinstatement of a regulation which was abolished in 2007 under Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s first administration.

At a news conference after the submission, JCP lawmaker Shimazu Yukihiro noted that the Abe government is to blame for deregulating the practice of parachuting. “Together with other opposition parties, we’ll work to enact the bill as early as possible,” he said.

Democratic Party legislator Kamiyama Yosuke highlighted the need to plug the legal loophole in order to prevent a recurrence. The press conference was also attended by a parliamentarian from the Social Democratic Party.

Past related article:
> JCP Koike: PM Abe is held responsible for retired bureaucrats’ parachuting scandal [January 26, 2017]