Foreign government officials often express genuine puzzlement regarding the work habits of Japanese bureaucrats, who seem to operate without sleep. While agencies in other nations may have until the end of a business day to respond to international developments, Japanese ministries often scramble to provide real-time reactions regardless of the hour. This ability to maintain around-the-clock operations remains a source of mystery to many outside observers.
Before the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, the Japanese private and public sectors viewed unlimited working hours as a virtue. As the economy shifted, private firms rapidly moved to reform their environments, transitioning from "black"—or exploitative—practices to "white," employee-friendly conditions to manage personnel costs. The public sector, however, lagged behind. Central government bureaucrats historically signaled their competence by handling increasing workloads with shrinking staff, creating a culture of chronic exhaustion and abysmal conditions in the government district of Tokyo known as "Black Kasumigaseki."
The impact of this environment became clear through academic research, including surveys of six major ministries conducted in 2019 and 2023: the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Three findings stood out. First, the sense of burden in day-to-day work had a powerful effect on intentions to resign. Administrative demand has grown and tasks have become more complex, while staffing was never adequate to begin with. When a colleague leaves, the burden on those remaining increases further, triggering a vicious cycle of additional departures.
Two factors were identified as major contributors to this overload: Diet affairs and legal risk. Parliamentary conflict often results in opposition questions being submitted after deadlines as a tactical move, forcing bureaucrats to draft exhaustive "anticipated Q&A" documents for every possible scenario. The human toll of this pressure was highlighted by the case of a pregnant female official who worked until 3 a.m. to prepare for Diet deliberations. Furthermore, changes in administrative litigation law have increased the frequency of lawsuits against the government, forcing ministries to account for litigation risks during the initial stages of drafting legislation.
Third, however, the surveys also identified factors that reduce resignation intentions. Reducing workloads and raising salaries both help, though fiscal constraints make either difficult. But when a supervisor can clearly explain the content and significance of the work, or actively encourages new challenges, the desire to leave diminishes. It has long been understood that when a workplace environment can be improved to align organizational and individual goals, resignation intentions weaken accordingly. That said, there are still areas where ministries cannot reform on their own, unlike private companies. The burden of responding to politicians — and of anticipating litigation risk — remains heavy. Above all, there are inherent limits to the extent to which public funds can be spent on improving pay and working conditions.
CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 23rd 2017. Japanese government buildings in Kasumigaseki as seen from across the Imperial Palace moat.
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