In order to improve the administration in the 21st century, the reform will create a system of Independent Administrative Institutions (IAIs) different from any existing organs of the State, and will delegate certain undertakings of the central government to institutions independent from it. This chapter will explain the system of IAIs established for a higher degree of transparency in the administration and operations based on self-responsibility.
1. What are the IAIs? The introduction of the new system of IAIs is one of the core items of the administrative reform. This system has been introduced to enhance the effectiveness, quality, and transparency of certain parts of administrative services, by separating the administration into the implementing function and the planning and drafting function, and by delegating certain parts of the undertakings classified as the implementing function to the IAIs, each of which has its own independent judicial personality. The IAIs are to commit themselves not only to autonomous and flexible operations, but also to rigid ex post facto evaluation and review of their performance, and to the active disclosure of various matters. These rules of operation will be regulated by the Law concerning the General Rules of the IAIs. The following sections explain the gist of the IAI system, according to the Law of the General Rules and the Plans to Expedite the Administrative Reform of the Central Government determined by the Headquarters of the Administrative Reform of the Central Government on April 27, 1999.
2. Concepts of the IAI System The IAI System lies on the basic concepts of public welfare, transparency, and autonomy of activities, as Article 3 of the Law of the General Rules provides that "(i) the IAIs must make efforts for just and effective operation under the consideration that the fulfillment of their undertakings is indispensable from such public viewpoints as the stability of people's lives, society and the economy; (ii) the IAIs must make efforts to open to the public the status of their organizations and operations by such means as the announcement of the content of their activities as provided under this Law; (iii) the autonomy of each IAI's operation must be respected in accordance with the application of this Law and the laws establishing the IAIs." These concepts are reflected in the system in the form of operations based on self-responsibility, the introduction of the principles of corporate accounting, thorough disclosure, and the introduction of a performance-based salaries.
3. Operation The most distinctive features of the IAIs are the autonomy of each IAI with limited prior control from the outside and the ex post facto evaluation by which each IAI rigidly evaluates its own performance subsequently and makes use of the result of the evaluation to its operations. In the system of IAIs, the competent Minister of State presents to each related IAI a mid-term objective, which the IAI is to achieve during a term set by the Minister from three to five years. The mid-term objective includes its duration, matters concerning the promotion of the efficiency of its operations, matters concerning improvements in the quality of services offered to the public and matters concerning improvements in financial performance. The mid-term objective sets the standards for evaluation as explained in subsequent paragraphs, and is produced in a manner that will allow a decision to be easily formed on the evaluation, preferably including numerical targets. Special regard is to be paid to make the object reflective of the characteristics of the activities performed by each IAI, because of the diversity of IAIs' activities. Based on the presented mid-term objective, the IAI drafts a mid-term plan to achieve the objective autonomously, and requests the competent Minister's approval. The mid-term plan includes the measures to achieve the objectives concerning the promotion of efficiency in operations, the measures to achieve the objectives concerning improvements in the quality of services offered to the public, the budget, the plan regarding revenues and expenditures, and the financial plan. It also includes matters concerning finance, the plan concerning facilities and equipment, the plan concerning personnel affairs (including the targets concerning the efficient use of human resources and personnel expenditures), and the plans regarding other matters differing according to the characteristics of the individual IAIs. Based on the mid-term plan, each IAI is to make a plan for one fiscal year (one-year plan), and submit it to the competent Minister. According to its mid-term plan and one-year plan, the IAI is to perform its operations in a flexible manner. The performance of the IAI is to be periodically evaluated by the IAI Evaluation Committees established in the competent Office and Ministries, and by the Committee for the Evaluation of Policies and IAIs established in the Ministry of Public Managemant, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications.The members of both committees are to be selected from knowledgeable persons outside the public sector. Every fiscal year the IAI Evaluation Committee is to investigate and analyze the status of the achievement of the mid-term objective in the fiscal year. By considering the results of the investigation and analysis comprehensively, it shall evaluate the entire performance of the IAI during the fiscal year, and may recommend, when the Committee considers necessary, that the IAI modify its operations. The results of evaluations conducted by the Committee are to be conveyed to the Committee for the Evaluation of Policies and IAIs. The latter Committee, when it considers necessary, may submit its opinions to the IAI Evaluation Committee. The IAI Evaluation Committee investigates and analyses the status of the achievement of the mid-term objective at the end of its term, and by considering the results of the investigation and analysis, comprehensively evaluates the entire performance during the term of mid-term objective. Taking the results of its evaluation into consideration, the competent Minister is to consider the overall organizational matters and activities of the IAI, such as the necessity of continuing the IAI's activities and the way the IAI should operate, and according to this consideration, necessary measures shall be taken. In this regard, the Committee for the Evaluation of Policies and IAIs may give recommendations to the competent Minister concerning the changes to or the abolishment of the main undertakings of the IAIs. To sum up, in order to maintain neutrality and objectivity, each IAI's performance will be double-checked by both the IAI Evaluation Committee placed in each Office or Ministry, and the Committee for the Evaluation of the Policies and IAIs in the Ministry of Public Managemant, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. Both of these evaluations are to be conducted every fiscal year and at the end of the term for the mid-term objective.
4. Finance and Accounting The financial management and accounting of the IAIs incorporate a number of systems enabling efficient and flexible management. The accounting for IAIs is made in accordance with the principles of corporate accounting as a rule, adopting the concept of the accrual basis and the double entry system, and producing such financial materials as balance sheets and profit/ loss statements. The IAI becomes able to make more flexible use of its profits defined on a profit/ loss statement; for instance, allocating the profit for a use determined in the mid-term plan with the approval of the competent Minister. Another new feature is that the financial materials of IAIs with scales larger than a certain standard, will be professionally audited. Meanwhile, since IAI activities need to be fully executed, the Government may allocate to each IAI, within the budgetary limitation, a part or all of the amount of the necessary financial resources. A self-supporting accounting system is not to be adopted, and the disbursement of the budget to the IAI needs to be given careful consideration so as to ensure the full execution of the IAI's undertakings, with reference to the budget that was disbursed for those undertakings before the establishment of the IAI. The Government plans to allocate two kinds of financial resources to the IAIs, management grants and facility expenses. A management grant is "a lump-sum grant" whose use is not specified and which can be carried forward to the next fiscal year. Management grants aim at contributing to the flexible operation of the IAIs.
5. Executives and Employees The status of national public employees is given to the executives and employees of Specified Independent Administrative Institutions (SIAI) to which this kind of status is deemed as necessary by comprehensively taking into account their objectives, the nature of their activities, etc. of SIAIs, including those whose failure to complete their undertakings is considered to cause direct and significant damage to people's lives or social and economic stability. Which IAIs are classified as SIAIs is to be determined by individual laws establishing IAIs. The executives and employees of SIAIs in general observe the rules of national public employees. As a result, for example, employees are not endowed with the right to strike. From a viewpoint of the autonomous management of the IAIs, payment of the executives and employees, for instance, must be reflective of the achievement of each individual or IAI without regard to the fact of whether they have the status of national public employees or not. In this regard the Law of the General Rules prescribes that the IAI determines and publicizes the standard of salary and the conditions of work for its employees. Likewise, the number of the employees in IAIs is to be managed by the IAIs themselves and not by the State administrative organs. Therefore, they are excluded from the subject of the laws and orders including the Law concerning the Fixed Number of Personnel of the Administrative Organs. However, IAIs are still required to report their numbers of employees to the Diet . The executives are selected from either those who have eminent knowledge and experience related to the undertakings and operations or those who have the ability to properly and efficiently manage the undertakings and operations. The candidacy of the selection can be made open to the public. Executives may be dismissed even during their terms on account of the aggravation of the IAI's performance or other reasons. Whether or not executives and employees possess the status of national public employees does not actually affect the substance of the IAI system such as its operation. The important part of the system is rather that the autonomous and flexible organization and operation lead to improvements in the efficiency and quality of administrative services.
6. Disclosure The IAIs aim at retaining the efficiency and soundness in operation by actively disclosing to the public various information on their activities, performances, evaluations, etc. For example, the IAIs are required to disclose their operation manuals, mid-term objectives, mid-term plans, one-year plans, financial materials, reports on operations, results of evaluations by the Evaluation Committees, standards of salaries, etc. The measures of disclosure are also designated; the IAIs are to actively publicize this information by utilizing proper means including the electronic media, in addition to printing on gazettes and preparing printed materials for distribution or reference.
7. Conclusion The IAIs will incorporate plenty of unconventional systems that have not appeared in any existing public organizations. Sometimes they could be compared to "Agencies" in the United Kingdom. Actually the Agencies were an insightful reference for the making of the IAIs, for example, in light of the separation of the planning and drafting function from the implementation function, the introduction of transparent, autonomous, and flexible operations and so forth. On the other hand, this UK prototype was remodeled in many ways. Most of the IAIs will start their operations in April 2001. They are expected to offer efficient and high-quality administrative services. 
|
|
