INTERVIEW: Japan MOF to Draw Up Reform Policy by June Next Year

August 30, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Ministry of Finance plans to draw up by June next year a reform policy that will set out an ideal vision of the ministry after recent scandals, Shigeaki Okamoto, new vice minister of finance, has said.

Okamoto took up his current post last month after his predecessor, Junichi Fukuda, resigned in April over a sexual harassment scandal. Other recent scandals involving the MOF include its manipulation of records linked to the sale of state land at a huge discount to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, once linked to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie.

"It's not easy to restore public trust," Okamoto said in an interview on Wednesday. "But the ministry has to make all-out efforts ahead of the consumption tax hike next year."

Okamoto said it is "serious" that the ministry has lost public trust, noting close links between its budgetary, taxation and other operations and people's daily lives.

The MOF will formulate a rough outline of the reform policy this autumn, after conducting an attitude survey of its employees. The survey will be led by Reiko Akiike of the Boston Consulting Group, whom the ministry invited to act as an adviser.

On the basis of the rough picture, the ministry will create a team for each theme of reform and proceed with specific studies for compiling the reform policy, Okamoto said.

The ministry will prepare a check system to prevent rule violations through a compliance promotion committee it has newly established.

Okamoto also indicated that the ministry plans to revise its personnel system. It may introduce a system to allow workers to rate their supervisors, he suggested.

On the planned consumption tax hike, from 8 pct to 10 pct, in October next year, Okamoto said that the ministry will take measures to prevent potential negative effects on the economy from expected last-minute demand before the tax increase and a subsequent decline in demand.

Among such measures, Okamoto suggested that the ministry will consider taxation or budgetary support for purchases of homes and consumer durable goods, including vehicles. Jiji Press