What is really refreshing about this whole exercise is the new fiscal accountability being imposed on line ministries, who, in the past, only had to justify their programs to MOF budget examiners, but hardly the public. A totally new experience for everyone, public and academic observers included.

It is unlikely that there will appreciable political blowback from the “cruel circus” of the GRU sessions.

First, according to public opinion polls, central government bureaucrats, particularly those in the parasite ministries like Agiculture, Forestry and Fisheries, are the least trusted and least liked members of socriety.

Second, the alternative to the DPJ is the LDP, which is the party whose ties to the bureaucracy created this mess.

The DPJ has talked about ending bureaucratic rule. However, the party has no hope of bending the bureaucracy to its will without the collaboration of the bureaucrats of the Finance Ministry. Their mutual interests are congruent in this instance , hence their being “as thick as thieves.” They will most certainly be at loggerheads over some spending priorities in the future. As long as the general trend of DPJ rule is veering away from rewarding small groups of clients, the Finance Ministry will not actively oppose the party’s plans.

Whether this means the Ministry of Finance is likely to become “too dominant” rather than just restored to a proper primus inter pares status probably depends more on whom you ask than on any objective criteria of fairness or efficacy.

This has been a pretty immensive display, you are right. What about the pro/cons of this?

Some of the good things are generally fairly easy to see, money saved is money earned. And the defense mounted by some of these bureaucracies and NGOs (I am thinking in particular of former academic turned NGO leader who’s defense of her budget support turned on having be invovled in the woman’s movement for twenty years – that was aggressively overruled) demonstrated that a new creed of productivity over senority is taking over. Both good things.

Another subtle good point is that it has stirred up the usually apathetic Japanese voter, on their opinions on how the DPJ have gone about “the change” the next election turns.

But there is damage too I am sure. It is a cruel circus the DPJ has created, and might there not be blow back in some form? As long as the MOF and DPJ stay thick as theives then that blowback can be managed, but is there not the danger that MOF starts to become too dominant?