JAPAN
Public Servants at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry were at their desks by 6am recently, on standby for a parliamentary session in which their Minister would answer questions from Opposition lawmakers.
As it turned out the Minister, Isshu Sugawara, resigned over alleged financial misconduct before the session started. The Public Servants who had shown up for work early lost a few hours of sleep for no reason.
Such early starts are par for the course for Central Government employees, who represent the cream of the crop in Japan’s workforce.
Despite noises made by the Government about the need to cut overtime in the private sector, many Public Servants still put in more than 100 hours a month of overtime.
Critics said it was unlikely that workers in any other advanced economy would put up with such gruelling conditions.
Faced with rigid workplace customs and no work-life balance, many Public Servants say they are losing their motivation and some are even quitting, giving away the years of rigorous study required to pass highly-competitive examinations and land a Government job.
Being on standby to help parliamentarians field tough questions is an example of the old-fashioned practices that keep Japan’s bureaucrats tied to their desks.
When the legislature is in session, Ministry staff work to answer expected questions and prepare responses for Ministers.
While the official deadline for lawmakers to submit questions is noon two days before Parliament convenes, most do not abide by the rule.
It means Public Servants must spend hours working right up to the opening of the session to handle questions. When that is done, they have to print out piles of documents, bind them and deliver them to Parliament on bicycles.
A study by the Ministry of Health has found that Government workers are three times more likely to take time off due to mental health problems than in the private sector, while suicide rates are 50 per cent higher.
Tokyo, 10 January 2020
