일본 국가공무원제도의 변혁 흐름:하토야마 정권의 개혁 사례를 중심으로

A general election in Japan was held on August 30, 2009, for all 480 seats of the House of Representatives (the lower house of the Diet). In the election, then opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated then ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). After that, DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama became the Prime Minister of Japan on September 16, 2009. The DPJ's major policy platforms include: a restructuring of civil service; a monthly allowance for families with children; free tuition for public high schools; raising the minimum wage; and the halting of any increase in sales tax for the next four years. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama endorsed a bill to revise the national civil service law and submitted it to the Diet. This revision would allow the establishment of the new personnel bureau in the Cabinet's secretariat, if the bill is approved by the Diet. Prime Minister Hatoyama pointed out the problems with the current civil service system as being bureaucratic control, vertical administration, and amakudari. He emphasized that personnel matters need to be unified under the authority of the Cabinet, a flexible system would be introduced, and personnel movements would be decided following discussions between the Prime Minister, the Chief Cabinet Secretary and those who have authority over personnel appointments. Such historic changes of the Japanese civil service system could substantially affect neighboring countries’ personnel policy so that this paper examines the case of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s civil service reform initiatives based on various sources.