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Meiji Journal of Governance Studies

Meiji Jo

urn

al of G

overn

ance S

tud

ies Vo

l.2

2014

Vol.2

Meiji Journal of Governance Studies Vol.2

2014

Meiji UniversityGraduate School of

Governance Studies

Meiji U

niversity

Grad

uate S

cho

ol o

f Go

vernan

ce Stu

dies

MeijiJournalofGovernanceStudiesVol.2,2014

MeijiUniversityGraduateSchool

ofGovernanceStudies

Tokyo,JAPAN

March2015

MeijiJournalofGovernanceStudies

Vol.2,2014

EditorialNote�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������IchikawaHiroo i

ResearchPapers

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationships

betweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan:

ComparisonandVerificationofThreeModels���������������������TanakaHideaki 1

DisabilityandEmployment:

TheSocialCooperativeasaSustainableSocialBusinessModel�������������������������������������������������������������������������LarattaRosario 31

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・s

NaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia:

Someanalyticalobservations����������������������������������������������������������ShadrinaElena 43

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities:

LessonsfromTokyoonMarch11,2011������������������������������������KuboTakayuki 69

AStudyofManagementStyleof

・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・:

FromtheViewof・FixedAccountingSystem・������������������������IshiiHiromune 85

*Allmanuscriptsinthisjournalhavebeenpeerreviewed

andapprovedofbytheeditorialboardforpublication.

* * * * *

ListofContributors����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 105

EditorialNote

MeijiUniversitystartedanumberofprofessionalgraduateschoolsin2004.

TheyincludedtheschoolsofGovernanceStudies,GlobalBusinessandAccountancy,

inadditiontotheLawSchool.Thesebecameaddendum tobutseparatefrom the

existingacademicandthesisorientedcoursesintheGraduateSchoolofMeijiUni-

versity.ThenewschoolsofferMasterofPublicPolicy,MasterofBusinessAdmini-

stration,andMasterofProfessionalAccountancyforthequalifiedstudents.Of

thesenewprofessionalschools,theGovernanceStudiesiscateredprimarilyforlocal

electiveofficialsandregionalgovernmentstaffmembers.TheSchoolprovidespro-

fessionalandpragmatictrainingsinpublicadministrationandmanagementfor

theseseasonedstudents.OriginallythesizeoftheGovernanceStudieswassetatthe

totalof50Japanesestudentsperannum.However,overtheyears,theSchoolhas

beguntoacceptmanytraineesfromvarioustransitionalcountries.Alargenumber

ofofficialsfromMalaysiahavealreadybeenexposedtoJapanesemethodsofgov-

ernmentmanagementatMeijiUniversity.Currently,foreigntraineesintheSchool

includethestudentsfrom Bangladesh,CongoRepubli�e,Indonesia,Kyrgyz,Laos,

Malaysia,Myanmar,Philippines,Vietnam,andLaos.From 2014,aplanhasbeen

madetoestablishtheGraduateSchoolofGlobalGovernancewhichisaDoctoral

ProgramintheGovernanceStudiesarea.

TheGovernanceStudieshasaJapanesequarterlyjournal.Facultymembers

andaselectednumberofstudentshavecontributedmanuscriptsonvariousissues

relatedtogovernmentandgovernancetothequarterly.InadditiontotheJapanese

version,theGovernanceStudieshasdecidedtolaunchanEnglisheditionofthe

journal.Itislabeledas・MeijiJournalofGovernanceStudies.・Thepresentvolume

becomesaninauguraledition,whilethiswillsubsequentlybefollowedbyaregular

annualvolume.Inthisinauguralpublication,theGovernanceStudiesishighly

honoredtohaveacontributionfromProfessorJonPierreofGothenburgUniversity,

Sweden.ProfessorPierreisoneofthemostrenownedacademicsintheglobeinthe

areaofpublicadministrationandgovernmentmanagement.Hiscontributiontothis

initialvolumehascertainlyhelpedenhancethequalityaswellasreputationofthe

journal.TheSchoolishighlygratefulforhisworkandperseverance,sincethe

scheduleofthepublicationwasdelayedduetomanyon-campusimpediments.

InadditiontoProfessorJonPierre,thecurrenteditionincludestheworksofa

numberofthefacultymembersfrom overseas.Oneofthem isfrom theUnited

Kingdom,whileothersarefromItalyandRussia.Theyhavebeenteachingcommu-

nityaffairs,environmentalissues,・localbranding,・etc.inEnglish.Theirlectures

oftenprovideinternationalperspectivesandstimulateforeigntrainees.Theinterac-

tionsbetweentheseforeignprofessorsandforeigntraineesseem toepitomizethe

degreeofglobalizationatMeijiUniversityingeneralandtheGovernanceStudiesin

i

particular.Astheeditorinchiefofthisjournal,Iwouldliketoexpressmysincere

appreciationtoProfessorEmeritusAkiraNakamuraforhiseditorialhelpandthe

ProfessionalGraduateSchoolOfficefortheirlogisticsupport.TheGovernance

Studieshopesthatnotonlywouldthisneweditionhelpenlargeinterestsamong

academicsandpractitionersinJapanesepublicmanagement,buttheinauguralvol-

umewouldpreparenew dimensionstoanalyzethepublicsectormanagementin

variouscountries.

EditorinChief

HirooIchikawaDean,ProfessionalGraduateSchool

Professor,MeijiUniversity

EditorialNoteii

1 Introduction

TheDemocraticPartyofJapan(DPJ)tookupthereinsofgovernmentineupho-

riainSeptember2009,butitendedinDecember2012.Itlastedforjustthreeyears

andthreemonths.Duringthatperiod,theprimeministerchangedeveryyear.This

symbolizesthefailureoftheDPJ・s・politician-ledgovernment・tofunctionasex-

pected.Moreover,thetransitionfromtheKanAdministrationtotheNodaAdmini-

strationhaswitnessedthevirtualrevivalofsuchtraditionalinstitutionsasthe

administrativetopofficials・meetingconsistingofsecretary-generalofallministries

andthepracticeofpriorreviewbytherulingparty.Inasense,politicshasreturned

totheoldmodelthatdominatedduringthelongyearsofLiberal-DemocraticParty

(LDP)rule.AstheDPJ・sconceptofapolitician-ledgovernmenthasbeenexten-

sivelydiscussed(Ito[2011],SasakiandShimizu[2011],Takayasu[2011],Nihon

KeizaiShimbun[2010]andothers),thispaperwillfocusonthepolicy-makingproc-

esswithspecialattentiontotheroleofpoliticiansandbureaucrats.Whilethe

changeingovernmentexposedabitterreality,theexperimentwithpolitician-led

governmentdidservethepurposeofclarifyingthevariousproblemsthatexistin

Japan・spolicy-makingprocess.TheKasumigasekiDistrictwheregovernmentmin-

istriescongregatehaslongbeencriticizedasabastionofbureaucrat-ledgovern-

ment.Leavingthedetailsofthedefinitionaside,therecentgovernmentchangedid

provehoweasyitwastobreakfreefromthegraspofbureaucrat-ledgovernment

(Nakano,2010).Ontheotherhand,theexperimentalsoprovedthatagovernment

cannotfunctionproperlyintheabsenceofbureaucratsorundertheleadershipof

the・ministerialtroika・(comprisedofminister,viceministerandparliamentary

secretaryofgovernmentministries).

Policy-makingranksamongthemostimportanttasksofgovernment,andthe

studyofthepolicy-makingprocessisdirectlylinkedtotheissueofpolitics.Inorder

toestablishthecharacteristicsanddeterminantsofthepolicy-makingprocess,such

studiesanalyzetheinter-relationsbetweensystemsandinstitutions,theexternal

environmentandtheactors.Discussionsofwhichissuperior― bureaucratsor

1

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationships

betweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapanComparisonandVerificationofThreeModels

HideakiTanaka,Ph.D.

NationalGraduateInstituteforPolicyStudies

MeijiUniversity

Tokyo

politicians― maybeusefulinanalyzingthebehaviorandinfluenceoftheactorsin

policy-making,buttherealanswerliesintheresults.Carryingthelogictothe

extreme,itcanbesaidthataslongastheresultsaregoodanddemocraticproce-

dureshavebeenfollowed,themeansandprocesscanbejustified.Conventional,

policyresearchhasfocusedprimarilyonthebehavioroftheactors,andnotmuch

attentionhasbeenpaidtotheoutcomeofthepolicy-makingprocessandthecontent

ofpolicies.1 Thisisbecausesuchevaluationsinvariablyrequirecertainvaluejudg-

ments.Ontheotherhand,itispossibletoevaluatepoliciesfromtheperspectiveof

thecharacteristicsandproceduresfollowedintheprocessofdeliberatingonpolices,

andthestabilityandeffectivenessofpolicies.

Apolicyisthetranslationofthegovernment・spoliticalprioritiesandprinciples

intoprogramsandcoursesofactiontodeliverdesiredchanges(NAO2001,1).Inthis

context,thepolicy-makingprocessconsistsoftheprocessofdiscussing,approving

andimplementingpublicpolicy(SteinandTommasi2008,6),ortheprocessby

whichgovernmentstranslatetheirpoliticalvisionintoprogrammesandactionsto

deliver・outcomes・― desiredchangesintherealworld(UKPrimeMinisterandthe

MinisteroftheCabinetOffice1999:15).Ourprincipalinterestinthispaperisto

investigatethefactorsthatdeterminethecapacitytodesign,approveandimple-

menteffectivemeasures.TheWorldBank(2010,3)makesthefollowingpoint:

・Thescopeandquality ofthepolicy processarehighly dependenton each

country・sidiosyncraticbridgebetweenpoliticsandadministrationortheparticular

nationalbalancebetweenpoliticalcalculusandtechnicalassessment.・Thus,the

questionis:Whatkindofbalanceisconducivetoformulatingbetterpolicy?

ThepurposeofthispaperistoidentifyproblemsinJapan・spolicyprocessfrom

theperspectiveofthecharacteristicsoftheprocessandtheeffectivenessofthe

resultingpolicies.Thisisundertakenthroughacomparisonofthefollowingthree

models:theconventionalLDPmodel(・RulingPartyandBureaucracyModel・),the

・CouncilonEconomicandFiscalPolicyModel・(CEFPModel)asitfunctioned

undertheKoizumiAdministration,andtheDPJ・s・MinisterialTroikaModel.・Jump-

ingimmediatelytotheconclusion,itcanbesaidthatthegreatestproblem in

Japan・spolicyprocessisthatthepolicyprocesslacks・contestability.・Ithasbeen

arguedthatoneoftheproblemsinJapan・spolicyprocessisthattherulingparty

functionsasaplayerinvestedwithvetopower,buttheactualproblemisthatsuffi-

cientanalysisanddeliberationisnotundertakentoenablecoordinationandconsen-

susbuilding.TheLDPgovernmentcamebackattheendof2012followingthe

dissatisfactiontowardDPJ,andJapanisreturningtoitsconventionalmodel,al-

thoughthepolicy-makingprocessoftheAbeAdministrationmaydifferfrom it.

Thepolicy-makingprocessinJapanhasbeenbackandforth,buttherealquestion

thatmustbeaskedis:Whatincentivesandwhattasksshouldbegiventobureau-

cratstobetterresults?

Therestofthispaperisstructuredasfollows.Section2givesaliteraturereview

andoutlinestheanalyticalframework.Section3focusesonsocialsecuritypolicies

andexaminestherespectivepolicyprocessesofthethreeabovementionedmodels.

Section4presentsacross-sectionalcomparisonofthepolicyprocessesofthethree

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan2

modelsandanalyzestheirproblems.Finally,Section5presentstheconclusionsof

thisstudy.

2 LiteratureReviewandAnalyticalFramework

Whilepolicycanbedefinedinvariousways,alldefinitionshaveacertainpoint

incommon.Thisisfoundinthegovernment・sperspectiveanditsattemptstoinflu-

encesocietyandtheeconomyandtoachievecertaingoals.2 ・Policyprocess・refers

totheprocessofmakingandimplementingsuchpolicies.Thisprocessincludes

suchactorsaspoliticians,bureaucrats,interestgroupsandscholars.3 Duringthe

1950s,Lasswellformulateda・processmodel・foranalyzingthepolicyprocessby

dividingitintoanumberofstages(Lasswell1956).WhileLasswelladoptedseven

stagesofintelligence,promotion,prescription,invocation,application,termination

andappraisal,othershavedevelopedprocessmodelswithdifferingnumbersof

stages.4

Ineachprocess,actorstakeactionandmakepolicies.Generally,thepolicy

processisaprocessoftransactionandnegotiationbetweenpoliticalactors.The

behaviorofpoliticalactorsinthepolicy-makingprocess― asshapedbytheirroles,

incentives,andconstraints―willdepend,inturn,ontheworkingsofpoliticalinsti-

tutionsandonmorebasicinstitutionalrulesthatdeterminetherolesofeachofthe

players,aswellastherulesofengagementamongstthemselves(SteinandTommasi

2008,13).Furthermore,thestructural,social,politicalandeconomicenvironments

influencepoliticalandpolicymakingactivities(Birkland2005,202).Recentyears

haveseenthedevelopmentofthe・coreexecutivetheory・(RhodesandDunleavy

1995,Ito2008),whichexplainsthecentralgovernment・spolicycoordinationprocess

intermsofmutualrelationsamongsuchactorsastheprimeminister,thecabinet,

ministersandbureaucratsandtheexchangeofresourcesamongtheseactors.

Evenassumingthatrelationsamongactorsareimportantinthepolicyprocess,

itwouldbeprematuretogeneralizetheinfluenceofaspecificactorforallstagesof

thepolicyprocesssincethepolicyprocesshasmultiplestages.Aberbacketal.

(1981)interviewedgovernmentadministratorsinmajoradvancedcountriesand

developedafour-partmodelfortherelationshipbetweenpoliticiansandbureau-

crats.Thesecoverthefourstagesofpolicyimplementation,formation,coordination

andconcept.ImageIVinAberbacketal.(1981)showsthat,withtheexceptionof

theimplementationstage,politiciansandbureaucratssharecommonroles,andthat

governmentadministratorsengageinthepoliticalprocess.InanalyzingImageIVin

Aberbacketal.(1981),Campbell(1988)concludesthatthetypeofpoliticalengage-

mentbyseniorofficialsdiffersbetweencentralagencies,suchastheCabinetOffice

andMinistryofFinance,andothergovernmentministries.Furthermore,relations

amongactorsalsodifferaccordingtodifferencesinthepolicyprocessandthetype

andcontentofpolicies.5Inotherwords,therelationbetweenpoliticiansandbureau-

cratsandtheroleofbureaucratscannotbeexplainedintermsofasimplepolicy-

administrationdichotomy.

InJapan,discussionsofpoliticalandpolicyprocesseshavebeenalmostexclu-

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 3

sivelyfocusedontheactors.Buttheimportantissueistoidentifyprocessescapable

ofgeneratinggoodpolicies.Anattempttodefinewhatconstitutes・goodpolicy・

callsforadiscussionofthetypesofsystemsandprocessescapableofgenerating

goodpolicies.IDB(2006)liststhefollowingattributesofpoliciesthatgiveriseto

goodresults:stability,adaptability,coherenceandcoordination,thequalityofimple-

mentationand enforcement,public-regardandefficiency.TheWorldBank(2010)

identifiesthefollowingattributesofgoodpolicies:consensus-builtamongkey

stakeholders,economicallysound,implementablepolitically,implementabletechni-

cally,sustainable,andstable.Finally,theCabinetOffice(1999)liststhefollowing

characteristicsofmodernisedpolicy:strategic,outcomefocused,joinedup,inclusive,

flexibleandinnovative,androbust.

Theanalyticalframeworkofthispaperisbasedontheaforementionedlitera-

ture.Wedefinethreedecision-makingmodelsbasedontherelationshipbetween

politiciansandbureaucrats.Thefirstmodelis・RulingPartyandBureaucracy

Model・,whichistheconventionalLDPmodel.Inthismodel,politiciansoutsidethe

governmentandbureaucratsco-operateeachotherinthepolicy-makingprocessand

theformeroftenexercisesvetopower.ThismodelisfoundinalmostLDPgovern-

mentsuntilaround2000,althoughthecharacteristicsofthemodeldiffermoreorless

betweenthem.Thesecondoneis・CouncilonEconomicandFiscalPolicyModel・

(CEFPModel),whichisfoundundertheKoizumiAdministrationfrom2002to2006.

Inthismodel,primeministerplaysanimportantroleinthedecision-makingprocess

togetherwithoutsideexpertsandacademics.CEFPModeldiffersfromRulingParty

andBureaucracyModelintermsoftheroleofprimeminister,althoughthepartner-

shipbetweenpoliticiansandbureaucratsintheformermodelisalmostthesameas

thatofthelattermodel.Thethirdoneis・MinisterialToroikaModel・undertheDPJ

administrationsfrom2009to2012.Inthismodel,rulingpartyisnotinvolvedinthe

decision-makingprocessasthemajorplayer,althoughthecharacteristicsofthis

modelchangeinthesecondhalfofDPJera.

Policy-processanddecision-makingmodelsdifferaccordingtothepoliciesand

thestageofthepolicyprocessthatthemodelsfocuson.Withthisinmind,itshould

benotedthatthispaperfocusesonsocialwelfarepolicies.Specifically,thefollowing

policiesareexaminedinthecontextofeachofthethreemodelstobecompared.

First,underthe・RulingPartyandBureaucracyModel,・the1999pensionreform

undertheLPDAdministrationisexamined.FortheCEFPModel,the2004pension

reformundertheKoizumiAdministrationisexamined.Lastly,forthe・Ministerial

TroikaModel,・theintroductionofthenewchildallowancesystem undertheDPJ

Administrationisexamined.6

Thepolicyprocessisexaminedinthreestages:definingpolicyobjectives,policy

formulationanddeliberation,andcoordinationanddecision-making.Thisformof

research haspreviously been undertaken by Nakamichi(2005). Specifically,

Nakamichifocusedonattemptstocategorizepoliciesandtocreatepolicy-process

models,whichhethenusedintheanalysisofthepolicyprocesstodeterminethe

dynamicsoftherelationsbetweenpoliticiansandbureaucratsinJapan.Nakamichi

statesthat,・Theimportanceofthemediaintheprocessofformulatingpolicyissues

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan4

isgrowing;governmentadministratorsareplayingagreaterleadershiproleinfor-

mulatingpolicies;andtheimportanceofpoliticalpartiesandMembersofParliament

inpolicy-makingisgrowing.・(p.181)However,thepresentpaperisnotprimarily

concernedwiththerelativestrengthsofbureaucratsandpoliticalparties.Rather,

thispaperconcentratesonfactorsaffectingtheoutcomeandthecharacteristicsof

policies.Thus,theroleofbureaucratsisobservedfromtheperspectiveofmaking

・goodpolicies,・anddifferencesinthethreepolicyprocesses(institutionsandthe

behaviorofactors)areanalyzedtoidentifytheproblemsthatexistinJapan・spolicy

process.7 Whilegeneralizationsbasedontheanalysisofspecificpoliciesshouldbe

avoided,socialsecuritypoliciesrepresentanareainwhichthecoordinationofinter-

estsisdifficult,andtheyarethereforeconsideredtobeparticularlyusefulinidenti-

fyingtheproblemsinJapan・spolicyprocess.

Inlightofthepriorliterature,thispaperadoptsthefollowingcriteriaforpolicy

evaluation:(1)economicsoundnessandefficiency,(2)politicalandtechnicalfeasi-

bility,and(3)effectiveness,stabilityandsustainability.Similarly,thefollowing

criteriaareusedforevaluatingthepolicyprocess:(1)identificationanddefinition

ofneedsandproblems,(2)involvementofstakeholdersandcollectionofawide

rangeofviews,(3)presentationandanalysisofmultiplealternatives,(4)cross-

ministerialdeliberation,(5)consensusbuildingandcoordination.

3 CaseStudiesinPolicyProcess

(1) RulingPartyandBureaucracyModel:PensionReformof1999

Followingtheprocessofrevisingfiscalprojections,deliberationsleadingtothe

1999pensionreform beganinearnestinMay1997inthePensionCouncilwhich

consistedmainlyofexternalexperts.InDecember1997,thePensionCouncilreleased

its・PointsatIssue,・whichwasfollowedbythepublicationoftwodocumentson

pensionreform bytheMinistryofHealthandWelfare. Thesewereentitled

・PensionReform:FiveAlternatives・and・MethodsforBalancingBenefitsandCon-

tributions,andtheirImpactonInsurancePremiums,・bothofwhichpresentedthe

fiscalprojectionsoftheMinistryofHealthandWelfare.Next,the・WhitePaperon

Pensions・waspublishedinFebruary1998,anda・SurveyofExperts・wasconducted

inMarchbasedonapaperexplainingthe・Fivealternatives.・InOctober1998,the

PensionCouncilreleasedapositionpaperstatingthatincreasesininsurancepremi-

umsfortheEmployeesPensionSystemshouldbekeptundercontrol.Theposition

paperalsoarguedthatitwouldbedifficulttoincreasetheratioofsubsidytothe

BasicPensionandtoreviewtheexemptiongiventofull-timehousewivesonthe

paymentofBasicPensioninsurancepremiums.Respondingtothis,theMinistryof

HealthandWelfareinthesamemonthannounceditsproposedplansforpension

reform.Thiscomprisedthreeseparateproposals,allofwhichcalledforhigherinsur-

ancepremiumsandlowerpensionbenefitswhilemaintainingthecurrentinstitu-

tionalframework.Theproposalsalsocontainedsuchfeaturesasafreezeonwage

indexing,reductioninpensionbenefitforthoseagedabove65andhavingalsoearn-

ings,andintroductionofagrossremunerationsysteminplaceofmontlywage.

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 5

AftertheproposalsoftheMinistryofHeathandWelfarewerereleased,differ-

encesofopinionquicklyemergedbetweenthegovernmentandtherulingpartyon

thequestionofwhetherornottoraiseinsurancepremiums.Addressingtheques-

tionofhigherinsurancepremiumsonOctober18,ActingChairmanYuyaNiwaof

theLDPPolicyResearchCouncilstated,・Forthetimebeing,afreezemustbeputin

place.・ItwasreportedthatCabinetSecretaryHiromuNonakaandDeputyChief

CabinetSecretaryTeijiroFurukawahadgiventheirconsenttothispolicydirection

andhadconveyedittotheprimeminister.8 SpeakingattheEconomicPoliciesMin-

isterialConferenceofOctober19,HealthandWelfareMinisterSoheiMiyashitare-

sistedthisdirectionbystating,・How cantherebeanydiscussionifthestarting

pointofthedebateisafreezeoninsurancepremiums?・9

InFebruary1999,theMinistryofHealthandWelfarefinalizedtheOutlinefor

PensionReform toreflecttheabovepolicydirection.Thereupon,thesceneofthe

debatemovedtothecoordinationprocessthattookplacewithinthecoalitionof

rulingparties.TheLDPapprovedapartiallyrevisedversionoftheOutlinefor

PensionReform(raisingthesubsidyratefortheBasicPensionSystemto50percent

andsimultaneouslyliftingthefreezeonraisinginsurancepremiums)inajointcon-

ferenceofitsPensionSystem ResearchCommissionandSocialPoliciesDivision.

However,consultationswithitscoalitionpartner,theLiberalParty,becamebogged

downwhentheLiberalPartyrejectedsomeoftheelementsoftheproposalput

forwardbytheMinistryofHealthandWelfareandtheLDP.Specifically,during

consultationsoftheMeetingofPolicyOfficers,theLiberalPartydemandedthatthe

5-percentcutinbenefitlevelsbedeletedandthattheBasicPensionbechangedtoa

100-percenttax-basedsystem.Inthenegotiationsandcoordinationthatfollowed,

bothpartiesfinallyagreedtoraisethesubsidyrateoftheBasicPensionto50per-

cent.Thereupon,provisionsconcerningnecessaryfiscalresourceswereaddedtothe

SupplementaryProvisionsofthePensionReformBill,andtheresultingrevisedbill

wassubmittedtotheDietinJuly1999.

(2) CEFPModel:PensionReformof2004

The1999pensionreformfailedtoaddressseveralissuesthatrequiredresolution,

themostimportantofwhichweretheearlyliftingofthefreezeoninsurancepremi-

umsandmeetingthefundingrequirementsforraisingthesubsidyratetotheBasic

Pensionto50percent(MinistryofHealth,LabourandWelfare,2004).Proceduresfor

the2004pensionreform werelaunchedwhenthePensionsSubcommitteeofthe

AdvisoryCouncilonSocialSecuritystarteditsdeliberationsinJanuary2002.In

December2002,thePensionBureaupublishedadocumententitled・Directionsand

IssuesConcerningtheFrameworkforPensionReform.・The2004pensionreform

processdifferedfromtheconventionalstyleofdeliberationduetothecreationofthe

CouncilonEconomicandFiscalPolicy(CEFP)thatfollowedadministrativereforms

ofthecentralgovernment.10 CEFPstarteditsdeliberationsonApril1,2003,basedon

・PointsatIssueConcerningPensionSystemReform,・whichhadbeendraftedbya

non-governmentmemberofCEFP.InthemeetingheldonApril16,Statementsof

OpinionweresubmittednotonlybytheMinisterofHealth,LabourandWelfarebut

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan6

alsobytheMinisteroftheEconomy,TradeandIndustry,theMinisterofFinance

andbynon-governmentmembersofCEFP.Thereafter,thebasicprinciplesforpen-

sionreformwereincludedin・2003BasicPoliciesforEconomicandFiscalManage-

mentandStructuralReform・(approvedbytheCabinetinJune2003).InSeptember,

Health,LabourandWelfareMinisterChikaraSakaguchipresentedtheMinistry・s

simulationsandprojectionsforbenefitsandcontributions.Duringthesamemonth,

thePensionsSubcommitteefinalizedits・Viewsonthe2004PensionReform.・Fol-

lowingthelowerhouseelectionheldinNovember,theMinistryofHealth,Labour

andWelfarepresenteditsfinalproposalforpensionreformduringthesamemonth.

Thefundamentalpointofconflictinthe2004pensionreform derivedfrom differ-

encesbetweentheMinistryofHealth,LabourandWelfareandthenon-government

membersofCEFP.WhiletheMinistryemphasizedmaintainingcurrentbenefit

levels,non-governmentCEFPmemberswantedtokeeppensioncontributionlevels

fromrising.11

TheproposalwasthensubmittedfordiscussionbysuchorgansastheLDP

PensionSystem ResearchCommission,theJointCommitteeofRulingPartieson

PensionSystemReform,andtheJointMeetingoftheGovernmentandRulingPar-

ties.AdecisionwasreachedintheDecember162003meetingoftherulingparties

toraisethesubsidyratiototheBasicPensionto50percentbyfiscal2009.OnFebru-

ary4,2004,afinalresolutionwasreachedintheJointMeetingofRulingPartieson

PensionSystem Reform(thebillwassubmittedtotheDietinthesamemonth).

However,theMinistryproposalhadbeenalmosttotallyoverturnedintheinternal

discussionsoftheLDPandNewKomeito.Specifically,theproposedhigherinsur-

ancepremium ratesfortheNationalPensionSystem weredrasticallyreduced.In

theEmployees・PensionSystem,thecollectionofinsurancepremiumsfromactively

employedpersonsofage70andabovewaspostponed,aswaseligibilityforpart-time

workers.12 Itwasreportedthatthroughoutthisperiod,PrimeMinisterKoizumi

hardlycommentedonthesedevelopmentsandconfinedhimselftomerelyobserving

thenegotiationsthatweretakingplaceamongtherulingpartiesonthegrounds

thatpensionreform wasnotaconcernofthePrimeMinister・sOffice.13 Asinthe

previouscase,thissecondpensionreformavoidedandpostponeddifficultdecisions.

MasajuroShiokawa,whoseterm inofficeasFinanceMinisterextendedthrough

September2003,explainedthattheMinisterofHealth,LabourandWelfarehad

requestedthattemporarymeasuresbeacceptedpendingpassageofthebudgetfor

thefollowingfiscalyear,andthatforthisreasonthepensionreformbillwasfinal-

izedwithoutmakingmajorchangesinthepensionsystem.14

(3) MinisterialTroikaModel:ChildAllowances

TheDPJManifestoformulatedforthe2009lowerhouseelectioncontaineda

commitmenttoprovidenewchildallowancesof26,000yenpermonth(13,000yen

permonthduringfiscal2010)regardlessfamilyincomeregardlesstoallchildren

untiltheendofjuniorhighschool.Theobjectiveofthiscommitmentwasto・Re-

viewincometaxdeductionsfordependentsandspouse,andprovidethesupportof

societyasawholefortheupbringingofeveryoneofthechildrenwhowillsupport

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 7

thesocietyofthefuture.・Tohonorthiscommitment,theHatoyamaAdministration,

whichhadcomeintoofficeinSeptember2009,launchedintonecessarydeliberations

andnegotiationsinthefiscalyear2010budgetcompilationprocess,itsfirstbudget

process.Unlikeintheconventionalapproach,however,nodeliberationswereunder-

takeninministerialcouncilsorbyCEFP.Instead,alldeliberationstookplacebehind

thescenes.Consequently,itwasnotuntilthefinalstagesofthebudgetcompilation

processthattheoutstandingissuesinthedebatebecameknown.15

Thereweretwokeyissuesinthedebateconcerningtheintroductionofchild

allowances:incomethresholdoneligibility,andthelevelofcontributionsbylocal

governments.Thegovernment・sstraitenedfiscalconditionsaddedurgencytothese

twoissues.Asaresult,debatesragedeverywhereintheDPJonhowtohandlethe

childallowanceissueasthebudgetcompilationprocessapproachedtheendof2009.

AproposalforincomethresholdwascontainedintheListofDemandssubmittedby

DPJSecretaryGeneralIchiroOzawatoPrimeMinisterYukioHatoyamaonDecem-

ber16.16 Itwasreportedthattheprimeministerrespondedtothedemandsofhis

partyasfollows.・Ratherthancallingthisthewilloftheparty,Iwouldcallitthe

willofthepeople.Iexpressmyappreciationforthis.・17Nevertheless,atthemeeting

withSecretaryGeneralOzawaattheprimeminister・sofficialresidenceintheeve-

ningofDecember21,PrimeMinisterHatoyamainformedOzawaofthedecisionnot

toadoptincomethreshold.18 Ontheissueoflocalgovernmentcontributionstonew

childallowances,anagreementwasreachedonDecember23indiscussionsinvolv-

ingVicePremierNaotoKan,FinanceMinisterHirohisaFujii,HomeAffairsMinister

KazuhiroHaraguchi,andHealth,LabourandWelfareMinisterAkiraNagatsuma.

Underthetermsoftheagreement,itwasdecidedthattheframeworkoftheChild

BenefitsSystemwouldberetained,andthenewChildAllowanceSystemwouldbe

superimposedontopoftheexistingstructure.19 However,nodecisionsweremade

onthestructureandmanagementofthesystemforfiscalyear2011andthereafter.

From theoutset,thisfailureloomedasamajorthreattothesustainabilityofthe

system.

TheintroductionofthenewChildAllowanceSystemwasfinalizedinjustover

fourmonthsfrom thestartofthenewDPJAdministration.However,throughout

thisperiod,thegovernmentdidnotpresentanyinformationonhowthesystemwas

tobefinanced,theneteffectoftheChildAllowanceSystem byincomeleveland

familystructurewhencombinedwiththeconcurrentabolitionofthetaxdeductions

fordependents,andthepercentageofhouseholdsthatwouldactuallyexperiencea

netincreaseinbenefits.Moreover,itremainedunclearwhathadbeendiscussedand

decidedbywhomandwhere.

Thisproblem cametoaheadwhentheDietbegandeliberatingontheChild

AllowanceBill.Forexample,intheFebruary24,2010sessionoftheHouseofRepre-

sentativesHealth,LabourandWelfareCommittee,Health,LabourandWelfareMin-

isterNagatsumasidesteppedthequestiononhowthegovernmenthadarrivedatthe

monthlyamountoftheChildAllowancebystating,・Weexaminedcasesfromother

countriesandtookvariousfactorsintoaccount.Thedecisionwasfinalizedbefore

theelection.・20TheLDPbroughtupthequestionofwhyforeignersresidinginJapan

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan8

withchildrenlivingabroadwereeligibleforbenefits.Whilethegovernmentwas

awareoftheexistenceofthisproblemundertheChildBenefitsSystemwhichwas

previoussystem,itdidnothaveenoughtimetoredesignthesystem inorderto

fulfillitscampaignpromise.Hence,forfiscalyear2010,ithadnootheroptionbutto

utilizetheexistingframeworkoftheChildBenefitsSystem.21

ChildAllowancepaymentsstartedinJune2010.However,becausenodecisions

hadbeenmadeonthemanagementofthesystemforfiscalyear2011andbeyond,

therewasconsiderableconfusioninthegovernment・sinternaldiscussionsandin

discussionsbetweenthegovernmentandtherulingpartywhenthefiscalyear2011

budgetcompilationprocessgotunderway.Thesituationwasfurthercomplicated

bytheresultsofthe2010upperhouseelection.Underthe・dividedDiet・that

emergedfrom theelection,repeatedchangeshadtobemadeinthedesignofthe

system.Inthe2011OrdinarySessionoftheDiet,theKanCabinetwasforcedto

abandonthegoalofmakingfull-amountpaymentsinfiscalyear2011duetothe

shortageofgovernmentrevenues.Thereupon,abillforrevisionwassubmitted

callingforpaymentsof20,000yenpermonthonlyforchildrenyoungerthanthree.

However,negotiationsbetweentherulingandoppositionpartiesbrokedown,and

analternativebillwaspassedthatuniformlysetallpaymentsat13,000yenthrough

September2011.Later,theChildAllowanceSystemwassubmittedforjointreview

bytherulingandoppositionparties.Ultimately,thedecisionwasmadetocontinue

withtheChildAllowanceSystem throughMarch2012,andtoreturnthereafterto

thepreviousChildBenefitsSystem.

4 AnalysisandObservations

(1) IdentifyingPolicyIssues

Whatsocio-economicproblemsaretobeaddressed,andwhatpoliciesaretobe

adopted?Whilethesequestionsmarkthestartingpointofanypolicyprocess,the

choicesthatareactuallymadedependheavilyonthejudgmentofthoseinvolvedin

thepolicyprocess.Inmanyinstances,theprocessofselectionandeliminationat

thispointcanbehighlyarbitrary.22 Underthetraditional・RulingPartyandBu-

reaucracyModel,・althoughtherehavebeenexceptions(suchastheadministrative

reform ofthecentralministriescarriedoutbythelatePrimeMinisterRyutaro

Hashimoto),thetaskofidentifyingpolicyissuesisprimarilycarriedoutbybureau-

crats(Table1).23TheRulingPartyandBureaucracyModelwascreatedduringthe

periodofJapan・sacceleratedeconomicgrowth,andtheleadershiproleinpolicy-

makingwasgiventothebureaucracybecauseundertheprevailingconditions,

・policychoicesdidnothavetobemadeunderconditionsofseriousconflictover

distributionalissues,andthereforetheprocessdidnotcomeface-to-facewithpoli-

ticsinthetruesense.・(Takahashi2002,111)However,thesituationchangedwith

theendoftheperiodofacceleratedgrowth.TheCEFPModelemergedatatime

whenJapanwasconfrontedbyagrowingneedforstructuralreform.WhileCEFP

hasbeenthoroughlystudied(Ota2006,Shimizu2007,Shiroyama2006,Takenaka

2006),thecriticalpointofimportanceisthat,whereaspolicy-makinghadalways

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 9

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan10

Table1 ComparisonofThreeModelsofPolicy-Making

Stage Actors

LDPAdministrationsRulingPartyandBureaucratsModel

LDPAdministrationsCEFPModel

DPJAdministrationsMinisterialTroika

Model

Identify

policy

issues

Politicians(primeminister,ministers,rulingparty)

△Rulingpartypoliticiansconveyrequeststobureaucrats

◎PrimeministerusesCEFPtoidentifypolicyissues(revisionofCabinetLawclarifiesprimeminister・srighttosubmitinitiatives)

◎Proposalsmadebytopthreeministryofficersbasedonelectionmanifesto

Bureaucrats ◎Identifyneedforreforminpresentsystems

○ConveyrequeststoCEFP △Awaitinstructionsfromtopthreeministryofficers

Advisorycouncils,etc.

△Conveyrequeststoministriesandrulingparty(frequentlyamouthpieceforministries)

◎CEFPclarifiestheissuesonhandwithsupportfromitsSecretariat

×Councilsviewedasstand-insforbureaucratsandnotutilized

Policy

formulationanddeliberation

Politicians(primeminister,ministers,rulingparty)

○Deliberationinrulingpartycommittees

○Deliberationinrulingpartycommittees

△RulingpartyDietmemberssubmitrequeststopolicycommitteesofministriesandagencies

◎AfterrevivalofPolicyResearchCommittee,deliberationinrulingpartycommittees

Bureaucrats ◎SubmitproposalspreparedbyministriesandagenciestoCouncils,andpreparedetailsoflegislativebills

◎Preparedetailsoflegislativebills

◎Preparedetailsoflegislativebills

Advisorycouncils,etc.

○Deliberationbasedonproposalsreceivedfromministriesandagencies

(necessarydataisprovidedbyministriesandagencies)

○Independentanalysisandexaminationofproposalsisinsufficient

◎CEFPdeliberatesonbasicdirections(transparencyhasimproved,butdeliberationsarenotnecessarilyindependent)

○Paralleldeliberationscarriedoutinthedeliberativecommitteesofministriesandagencies

×Councilsviewedasproxyforbureaucratsandnotutilized(insufficientdataandinformation,andnoindependentdeliberation)

Coordinationanddecisio

nmaking

Politicians(primeminister,ministers,rulingparty)

◎Priorinvestigationbyrulingpartycommittees(committeesholdvetopower)

◎Primeminister・sapprovalsignifiesfinaldecision

○Priorinvestigationbyrulingpartycommittees(diminishedvetopowerofcommittees)

○Adhoccoordinationbyministersandpowerfulrulingpartymembersbecauseministerialcommitteesdidnotfunction

Bureaucrats ◎Layinggroundworkwithingovernment,rulingparty,relatedindustries,etc.

○Layinggroundworkwithingovernment,rulingparty,relatedindustries,etc.

△Involvementinpriorcoordinationbeforesendingtheproposaltotheministeriallevelhasalsodeclined

Advisorycouncils,etc.

×Noroleaftersubmissionofrecommendations

△Follow-upbyCEFP ×Councilsviewedasproxyforbureaucratsandnotutilized

Notes:

1.Assessedbytheauthorbasedonanalysispresentedinthispaper.Symbolsindicatelevelsof

involvement(◎indicatingthestrongestlevelofinvolvement,×indicatingtheweakestleveland

△indicatingsomewherebetweenthem).

2.UnderDPJadministrations,advisorycouncilsweregenerallynotutilized.However,incertain

instancessuchastheSocialSecurityInvestigativeMeeting,meetingsandconferenceswerecreated

withministers,rulingpartypoliticiansandprivate-sectorexpertsasmembers.

beenmonopolizedbythebureaucratsoftherespectiveministrieswithjurisdiction,

CEFPsucceededinmakingitswayintothepoliciesarenaasanagenda-settingactor.

TheDPJAdministrationborninSeptember2009immediatelybegantomake

changesinthepolicyprocessinanefforttorealizetheparty・sstatedgoalof・poli-

tician-ledgovernment.・TheDPJManifestoissuedatthetimeofthe2009lowerhouse

electioncontainedthefollowingthreepolicyprocess-relatedproposals:(1)establish-

mentofa・NationalStrategyUnit・underthedirectjurisdictionoftheprimeminis-

terandchargedwiththetasksofagenda-settingandformulatinganationalvision,

(2)policyformulation,coordinationanddecision-makingcenteredaroundthetop

threepoliticiansofindividualgovernmentministries,and(3)policycoordinationin

ministerialcommittees(abolitionoftheadministrativetopofficialsmeeting).The

coreprincipleintheDPJpolicyprocessistheunificationandintegrationofthe

governmentandtherulingparty,aprinciplethatwasclearlyspelledoutinthe

CabinetMeetingMemorandum entitled・OntheRelationbetweenPoliticsandthe

Bureaucracy,・whichwasissuedimmediatelyafterthelaunchoftheDPJAdmini-

stration(September16,2009).TheprinciplewasagaindelineatedintheMemoran-

dumentitled・Policy-MakinginanUnifiedFrameworkfortheGovernmentandthe

RulingParty,・whichwasissuedbyDPJSecretaryGeneralIchiroOzawaanddistrib-

utedtoallDPJDietmembers(September18).24Inthenewpolicyprocessenvisioned

bytheDPJ,thepolicycommitteesofindividualgovernmentministriesandagencies

(chairedbytheirrespectivevice-ministers)wouldreceivetheproposalsandviews

ofrulingpartymembers.Inthenextstep,teamsofministerswouldformulatepol-

icyproposalstobesubmittedtotheCabinetforapproval.However,intheprocess

ofcompilingthefiscalyear2010budget,SecretaryGeneralOzawahimselfcame

forwardtodirectlysubmitrequestspertainingtothebudgetandthetaxsystemto

thegovernment.Asevidencedbythiscase,theattempttocreateaunifiedand

integratedframeworkbegantowavershortlyafterthelaunchoftheDPJAdmini-

stration.

AkeyproblemintheMinisterialTroikaModelwasthattheprimeministerand

individualministerssoonbegantomakepersonalstatementsonpolicydirections

thathadnotbeenproperlythoughtthrough.PrimeMinisterKan・sadvocacyofthe

・abandonmentofnuclearpowergeneration・wasatypicalexampleofthistendency.

Itishardtoimaginewhyeventheprimeministerwouldbeallowedtoinitiatea

majorshiftinpolicywithoutpriorconsultationwithoramongcabinetministers.

Subsequently,theNodaAdministrationhadtorevisethecourseof・abandonmentof

nuclearpowergeneration,・resultinginevengreaterconfusioninJapan・snuclear

powerpolicies.AnothercriticalfailureoriginatedintheDPJManifestothatwas

servingasthetemplateforagendasetting.Theproblem wasthattheManifesto

itselflackedinternalconsistencyandhadnotbeensystematicallycompiled.Need-

lesstosay,policy-makingispredicatedonaccesstoawiderangeofinformationand

data.Butanoppositionpartysimplydoesnothaveaccesstosuchinformation

beforetakingoffice.Therefore,itwouldhavebeenverynaturalfortheDPJtore-

viewthecontentsoftheManifestoanditsorderofprioritiesshortlyaftertaking

office.However,theDPJlackedtherequisiteflexibility.25 Comingintoofficeinthe

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 11

fallof2011,theNodaAdministrationcreatedtheCouncilonNationalStrategyand

Policytofunctionasa・commandpostoverseeingimportantpoliciesandasadriv-

ingforceinpolicypromotion.・Asitturnedout,however,thisnewlycreatedCoun-

cil26resembledtheearlierCEFPinappearanceonly.

(2) PolicyFormulationandExamination

Inthe・RulingPartyandBureaucracyModel,・bureaucratsplayedtheleading

roleinformulatingandexaminingpolicies.Astagefortheexerciseofthesefunc-

tionswasoftenprovidedbythegovernment・svariousadvisorycouncils.Inmore

recentyears,councilreportsandrecommendationshaveincertaincasesbeenwrit-

tenbycouncilmembers.However,membersgenerallydonothavethetimetodraft

reportsandprimarilyconcernthemselveswithexpressingtheirviewsorally.Asa

result,thewritingofreportsandrecommendationsislefttothecouncil・ssecretariat,

whichgoesaboutthistaskbasedonthelogicanddynamicsofthebureaucracy.The

reformofpensionsandothersocialsecuritysystemscaneasilyleadtoconfrontation

basedonthedifferinginterestsofthediscussants.Therefore,inboththe1999and

2004pensionreform,theMinistryofHealth,LabourandWelfaremadeaconscious

efforttodefusethetensionandgeneratediscussionbypublishingvariousalterna-

tivescenariosandtrialcomputations,byundertakinganumberofquestionnaire

surveys,andbyorganizingpublichearingsforparticipationbythegeneralpublic.

However,priortothis,issuesrelatedtothefundamentalstructureandfiscalre-

sourcesneededfortheBasicPensionProgram hadneverbeenfullyexamined,a

failurethatcanbetracedtothevestedinterestthatthebureaucracyhadinpreserv-

ingthesocialinsuranceapproach.27

IntheCEFPModel,atransitionwasmadefrom asystem inwhichministries

withjurisdictionmonopolizedthepolicyformulationandexaminationprocessesto

asystem ofcompetitionamongpoliciesproposedbyministrieswithjurisdiction.28

Ota(2006,148)commentsonCEFPasfollows:・Forthefirsttime,thesustainability

ofthesystem andthebalancebetweenbenefitsandcontributionswereearnestly

discussedbecauseaforumfordiscussionhadbeencreated.Thisrepresentsamajor

advancethatdifferentiatesthisprocessfrom otherearlierpensionreform ini-

tiatives.・WhileitistruethatCEFPdiscussedabroadrangeofissues,therewere

someclearlimitstoitsfunctionalityfrom theperspectiveofpolicy-making.For

instance,inthe2004pensionreform,legislativebillsweredraftedforraisingthe

subsidyratetotheBasicPensionto50percent.Butnoclearrationalewasgivenfor

whytherateshouldberaisedto50percent.29 Nevertheless,CEFPwasultimately

unabletoderailthecarefullycraftedpensionreform proposaloftheMinistryof

Health,LabourandWelfarethatwasaimedatrejectingtax-baseduniversalpen-

sionsandmaintainingthecurrentlyoperatingpensioninsurance(Shinkawa2004,

324).Thus,whilethepolicyprocesswasasuccessfromtheperspectiveofachieving

thepoliticalobjectivesoftheprimeminister,itwaslessthanperfectfromthestand-

pointofindependentanalysisanddeliberationandthesubmissionofindependently

derivedrecommendationstothegovernment.ItshouldbenotedthatinBritainand

othercountries,advisorycouncilsprovideaforum forindependentanalysisand

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan12

deliberationbyoutsideexperts,andarenotstructuredforparticipationbycabinet

ministersandotherpoliticians.30

IntheMinisterialTroikaModel,theinitialideawastoeliminatebureaucrats

fromthepolicyprocessandtoassignthetaskofpolicyformulationtothetopthree

politicians(minister,viceministerandparliamentarysecretary).31 However,by

cuttingofftheirdependenceonbureaucrats,vice-ministersandparliamentarysecre-

tariesquicklybecamedrownedintheworkthathithertohadbeenperformedby

secretary-generalsanddirector-generals.Furthermore,byprohibitingbureaucrats

from engaginginnegotiationsamongthemselves,thefinelytunedcoordinating

networkthatcoveredtheKasumigasekiDistrictwasshredded.Meanwhile,the

centralbureaucracyunderwentacompletechangeincharacterandacquiescedtoits

newroleofwaitingforinstructionsfrom politicians(Shimizu2011,13).Viewing

advisorycouncilsassymbolsofbureaucrat-ledgovernment,theDPJadministrations

abolishedthesecouncilsorrenderedthemdormant.32 Aswasseenintheanalysisof

theprocessleadingtotheintroductionoftheChildAllowanceSystem,thisstyleof

・politician-ledgovernment・resultedinpolicyformulationthatsufferedseriously

frominsufficientanalysisandexamination.33 TheobjectivesoftheChildAllowance

Systemwerevague,itsexpectedpolicyoutcomewasneverclearlydefined,andthe

entiredeliberativeprocesslackedpropertransparency.34 Theseproblemswerecom-

montovariousotherpolicyissues,suchastheabolitionofhighwaytolls.Ithas

beenpointedoutthatinthetraditionalRulingPartyandBureaucracyModel,data

andreferencematerialssubmittedtoadvisorycouncilswereusedbybureaucratsto

manipulatethediscussions.Evenifthisweretrue,atleastabroadrangeofdata,

analysisandpolicyalternativeswerebeingpresentedtotheadvisorycouncils,and

acertainleveloftransparencywasbeingensured.Theleveloftransparencyinthe

MinisterialTroikaModelclearlyfellshortofthismark.

(3) CoordinationandDecisionMaking

UndertheRulingPartyandBureaucracyModel,thecoordinationfunctionwas

predicatedonadualstructurethatseparatedthegovernmentfromtherulingparty.

ThisdualstructureremainedinplacethroughouttheyearsofLDPrule.Inthis

context,coordinationconstitutedapolicyprocessthatwascarriedoutthrougha

collaborativeeffortofspecial-interestpoliticiansbelongingtoPolicyAffairsRe-

searchCouncilandbureaucratsfromrelatedministries.Thisarrangementhasbeen

variouslycriticizedas・ascrum formationofpoliticiansandbureaucrats,・(Mura-

matsu2010)・apartnershipofmultiplepolicynetworkscomprisingrulingparty

politicians(particularly,special-interestpoliticians),governmentministriesand

agencies,andinterestgroups,・(Ito2006)and・collusionforthejointdistributionof

rent.・(Ito2011)Inthisframework,bureaucratsfromvariousgovernmentministries

andagenciescameintocontactwithpowerfulmembersoftherulingpartyand

pulledthestringsfrombehindthescenestodirectthecoordinationprocess.35

CEFPchangedtheKasumigasekiDistrict・sinternalmethodofcoordination.

Previously,apolicyproposalhadbeenformallysubmittedtoameetingonlyafter

thoroughclosed-doorconsultationandcoordinationamongrelatedministriesand

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 13

agencies.・However,theCouncilonEconomicandFiscalPolicydidawaywiththis

Kasumigasekipracticeofwhatmaybetermedthe・systemofunanimity.・Inthenew

modelofcoordinationthatitintroduced,topicswereopenlydebatedinformalmeet-

ings,andcoordinationwascarriedoutwhilelayingbaredifferencesinopinion.・

(Ota2006,7)WhileCEFPchangedthegovernment・sinternalmethodofcoordina-

tion,itdidnotmakeanyessentialchangestotheprocessofcoordinationbetween

thegovernmentandtherulingparty.ThisisbecausetheCEFPdidnothaveany

standinginthedebateoncethediscussionshadmovedtotheinternalmeetingsof

therulingparty(Ota2006,148).

Whatliesbehindthepartnershipbetweenpoliticiansandbureaucratsisthe

existenceofrulingpartypoliticianswithoutgovernmentpostswhoactasplayers

withvetopower.36 Whilethereisnoguaranteethatacabinetministerisalways

right,thesuperiorpositioncededtorulingpartymemberswithnoformalresponsi-

bilitieswouldseemtocontradicttheparliamentarycabinetsystem.Thisisnotto

saythatfactionswithintherulingpartyhavealwayshadvetopower.Inreality,a

levelofdisciplinehasalwaysbeenmaintained.AsKawato(1996)hasexplained,the

coordinatingfunctionwasmaintainedthroughappointmenttogovernmentposts

basedontherelativestrengthsoffactionsandseniority.Whileitcanbesaidthat

theprimeministerandthePrimeMinister・sOfficeexercisedgreaterpowerinpolicy

coordinationanddecision-makingundertheKoizumiAdministration,theduality

betweenthegovernmentandtherulingpartywaseffectivelypreserved.37

UndertheDPJ・sMinisterialTroikaModel,theinitialassumptionwasthatthe

coordinationanddecision-makingprocesseswouldbeundertakenasfollows:Minis-

terialpolicymeetingswouldberesponsibleforcoordinatingbetweenthegovern-

mentandtherulingparty,whilecommitteesofministerswouldtakechargeof

coordinatingwithinthegovernment.However,thisdidnotworkoutinpractice.In

boththefiscalyear2010budgetcompilationprocessandthetaxrevisionprocess,

confrontationanddisagreementpersistedbetweenministerscommittedtothe

party・sManifestoandtheMinisterofFinanceandothers,revealingthelackofcoor-

dinationwithintheadministration.38 Theruleforunifiedpolicy-makingwasnulli-

fied,andwhatresultedwasasituationinwhichitwasunclearhowpoliciesand

guidelineswerebeingdiscussedandfinalized,bywhom,andwhere.39 Inthecritical

stagesoftaxreformandthebudgetcompilationprocess,thedemandsoftheparty

conveyedbySecretaryGeneralOzawaexertedagreatdealofinfluence.Conse-

quently,theNationalStrategyUnitandministerialcommitteeswereunabletoper-

formtheexpectedcoordinationfunction.40 DPJ・sMinisterialTroikaModelstumbled

andstruggledsinceitsinception.Asimpleexplanationtothatistheywerelayman.

Inadditiontothat,wehavetoremindourselvesthattheyfacedunfortunateexter-

naleventssuchasGreatEastJapanEarthquake.Itmustbeanexcuse.However,I

dothinkthefundamentalproblemoftheirfailureisthatDJPcouldnotrevisethe

relationshipbetweenpoliticiansandbureaucratsintermsofachievingtheirgoalof

politician-ledgovernmentinpolicy-makingprocess.Inshort,theypaidlittleatten-

tiontotheroleofbureaucratswhocooperatewithpoliticians.

TheDPJexperimentin・politician-ledgovernment・madeitpainfullyclearthat

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan14

coordinationrequirescertainstructuresandmechanisms,thefirstofwhichisad-

ministrativecoordinationprovidedbybureaucrats,andthesecondofwhichiscabi-

net-levelcoordination.Coordinationthroughministerialcommitteesisdesirable

fromtheperspectiveofachievingpolitician-ledproblemresolution.However,effec-

tivecoordinationontheministeriallevelrequiresthepriorexaminationofproblems

andalternatives,functionsthatshouldbeperformedbybureaucrats.Ensuringthe

presenceofhigh-levelcivilserviceexpertise,aswellasasmoothinterfacebetween

thetwogroups(politiciansandcivilservants),iscentraltoapolicyprocesswhich

isabletoaligngovernmentprioritiesandimplementation(WorldBank2010,17).

However,theDPJMinisterialTroikaModeleffectivelydestroyedsuchrelations.41 In

Westminstercountrieswherestrictpoliticalneutralityisrequiredforcivilservants,

civilservantsingeneralandseniorofficialsinparticularprovideacertaincoordinat-

ingmechanisminthepolicyprocess.42 TheDPJestablishedministerialcommittees

intendingforthemtoperformgovernment-widecoordinatingfunctions.However,

merelycreatingaframeworkdoesnotensurethatitwillfunction.First,ministers

andbureaucratsshouldhavebeeninformedthatallimportantmatterswouldhence-

forthbereferredtoministerialcommitteesforcoordination.Second,asteadyproc-

essofbuildingupexperienceandpositiveresultswasnecessary.

UndertheHatoyamaAdministration,therelationshipbetweenthegovernment

andtherulingparty・tookonacompletelydifferentformofseparationascompared

totheageofLDPrule.・(Nonaka2011,309)ButintheNodaAdministrationthat

followedtheKanAdministration,thesystembegantoreturntoatraditionalLDP

modelwheretherulingpartyholdsvetopower.Shortlyaftertakingoffice,Prime

MinisterYoshihikoNodastatedthat,inprinciple,・policydecisionswouldbesubject

totheapprovalofthechairmanoftheparty・sPolicyResearchCommittee.・Respond-

ingtothisguideline,thedocumententitled・OnMakingPolicy-RelatedParty

Decisions・(September12,2011)wasapprovedbytheDPJExecutiveBoardcontain-

ingprovisionsformakingpolicydecisionsinmeetingsbetweenthegovernmentand

theparty・stopthreeofficers,andfortheestablishmentofaPolicyResearchExecu-

tiveMeetingandSectionalMeetings(jointlychairedbyoneco-chaireachfromthe

governmentandtheparty).43Moreover,theadministrativetopofficialsmeetinghas

beeneffectivelyreinstated.44 Thus,decision-makingundertheNodaAdministration

isbasedona・unifiedmodelforgovernmentandtherulingparty.・Duringthelong

yearsofLDPrule,adualisticstructureprevailedbetweentherulingpartyandthe

cabinet.UndertheNodaAdministration,however,therulingpartyandthecabinet

havebeeneffectivelyunifiedthroughsuchmechanismsasthe・Governmentand

Top-ThreePartyExecutivesMeeting・andthe・GovernmentandRulingPartyMeet-

ingonBudgetCompilation.・Asaresult,ithasbecomedifficulttoclearlydetermine

who,underwhatauthorityandwhatresponsibility,isperformingthefunctionsof

coordinationanddecision-making.45

(4) Summary

Basedontheforegoinganalysis,thethreemodelsareevaluatedandfundamen-

talproblemsrelatedtoJapan・spolicyprocessareidentified.Table2summarizesthe

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 15

resultsoftheevaluationofthethreemodelsbasedonthecriteriaoutlinedinSection

2.TheDPJinitiallyattemptedtoeliminatebureaucratsfrom thepolicyprocess.

WhilesomeeffortsweremadeundertheKanandNodaAdministrationstorectify

excesses,fromanoverallperspective,Japan・spolicyprocessdeterioratedunderthe

aegisof・politician-ledgovernment.・Politicianssimplycannottakechargeofallthe

detailsleadingtodecision-making,andtheprowessandcapabilitiesofthebureauc-

racyareindispensabletopolicymanagement.Theseincludethebureaucracy・sin-

formation-gatheringfunction,itsexpertknowledge,andtheadministrativeskills

requiredforformingandimplementingpolicies(Takayasu2011,137).Throughout

thetransitionfromtheCEFPModeltotheMinisterialTroikaModel,Japan・sbureau-

cratshavesuffereddeteriorationinexpertiseandspecializedknowledge,aproblem

thathasbeenpointedoutfrompreviousyears.However,inadditiontothis,recent

developmentshavediminishedtheautonomyofbureaucrats.

TheDPJAdministrationisconsideringreformingthecivilservicesysteminan

initiativethathasbeenoutlinedasfollows:・ThePrimeMinister・sOfficewoulddraw

upalistofallexecutive-levelcivilservantsforallministriesandagenciestoensure

controlofpersonnelaffairsbythePrimeMinister・sOffice.Demotionswouldalsobe

made.・(NihonKeizaiShimbun,January30,2010)Certainexecutive-levelappoint-

mentsofcivilservantsmadeaftertheDPJcametopowerhavealreadybeencriti-

cizedforbeingbasedonthearbitrarychoicesofministers.46 Speakingafterthe

ministers・conferenceofJanuary30,2010,PrimeMinisterHatoyamacommentedon

thepersonnelmanagementofexecutive-levelcivilservantssaying,・ThePrime

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan16

Table2 EvaluationofPolicyProcessinSocialSecurityPolicies

ProcessEvaluated

Criteria

1999

PensionReform

2004

PensionReform

2009

ChildAllowance

Policy

(1)Economicsoundness/

Efficiency2 3 1

(2)Feasibility 3 3 2

(3)Effectiveness/

Stability2 2 1

Process

(1)Identificationof

needs2 3 1

(2)Collectingwiderange

ofviews3 5 1

(3)Multiplealternatives

andanalysis3 4 1

(4)Cross-ministerial

deliberation2 3 1

(5)Consensusbuilding/

coordination3 4 1

Note:Five-stageevaluationwith・5・thehighestand・1・thelowest.

Minister・sOfficewillplacethisinitsowngrasp.・47Speakingtothepressatthetime

ofhisappointmentonJanuary7,FinanceMinisterKanstated,・Theauthorityto

appointandtofirecivilservantslieswiththepeople.Therefore,itisnatural[forthe

primeministerastherepresentativeofthepeople]toexercisetherighttomanage

personnelaffairs.・48Inotherwords,controlofpersonnelaffairsisunderstoodtobe

anelementofpolitician-ledgovernment.Therearestrongconcernsthatappoint-

mentofexecutive-levelcivilservantsingovernmentministriesandagenciesbased

effectivelyonpoliticalchoicesmadebytheprimeministerorcabinetministers

wouldhavevariousundesirableresults,suchasarbitrarypersonnelmanagement

andoffice-seekingbehavior,developmentsthatwouldevenfurtherpoliticizecivil

servants(diminishtheirautonomy).49Thepoliticizationofcivilservantswouldturn

attentionawayfromfact-basedaccurateanalysisandexamination.IntheCompre-

hensiveReform ofSocialSecurityandTaxesundertakenbytheDPJadministra-

tions,problemsrelatedtopensionsandhealthcarewerenotrevealedbecause

ministersandrulingpartymemberswishingtoavoiddifficultreformsexercisedthe

prerogativesof・politician-ledgovernment.・

TheCEFPModelwassuccessfulbecausearelationof・contestability・existedin

thepolicyformulationprocessbetweenCEFPandrelatedgovernmentministries

andagencies.Whiletheimportanceofcontestabilityinthepolicyprocesshasbeen

widelyemphasizedinrecentyears(ANAO2008,Briggs2007,CabinetOffice1999,IDB

2006,StoeckelandFisher2008),inthecaseofJapan,sufficientreformshavenotbeen

implementedtorenderthecivilservantsworkingatgovernmentministriesand

agenciescontestable.SteinandTommasi(2008,64�65)identifythefollowingtwo

characteristicswhichexplaindifferentbureaucratictypes:(1)autonomy(theextent

towhicheffectiveguaranteesofprofessionalisminthecivilserviceareinplaceand

degreetowhichcivilserviceareprotectedfromarbitrarinessandpolitization),and

(2)technicalcapacitiesofbureaucrats(thedegreetowhichthebureaucracyhas

salarycompensationandevaluationsystems).SteinandTommasiarguethatthese

areimportantfactorsinachievingpolicyoutcomes.ItistruethatintheJapanese

system,ahighlevelofautonomyexistswithinindividualgroupsofbureaucrats

workingingovernmentministriesandagencies(Iio2011,379).Butthisautonomy

isareflectionofthe・politicization・ofbureaucratsforthepurposeofprotecting

theirowninterests.Bycontrast,intheJapanesesystem,lessimportancehasbeen

giventotheexpertiseofbureaucratsinpolicyformulationandassessment(Tanaka

2009).50 Theautonomyofcivilservantsiscertainlyimportant.Leftunattended,

however,thisautonomycreatesabureaucracythatpursuesitsowninterests.What

isneedediscompetitionthatcutsthroughallaspectsofthemeritsystem.51

TheautonomyofcivilserviceshasbeenfurtherunderminedafterLDP-Komei

coalitiongovernmentledbyprimeministerShinzoAbecamebackinDecember

2012.Abeadministrationisalittlebitdifferentfrom traditionalLDPpolitics,be-

causeprimeministerorPM officeplaysaleadingroleindecision-makingprocess,

andrulingpartysetsback.Thereareseveralreasonsforit.Firstly,LDPlearnedthe

failureofDPJgovernmentthattheycouldnotmanageconflictsbetweenruling

partyandgovernment.Secondly,thepopularityofAbeishighandhewonboth

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 17

lowerandupperhouseelections.Thirdly,seniorLDPpoliticianswhoareveto

playersindecision-makingprocessarealreadyretired.Wecanobservethatthedual

structureindecision-makingprocesswhichhasunderminedthestrengthofprime

ministerandcabinetisdisappearinginAbeadministration.Howeverstrongprime

ministercausesthelackofcheck-and-balancesystem.Civilservicesnowlooklike

tooobedienttopoliticians,andtheycannotprovideaccurateanalysisandalterna-

tivestopoliticians.ThatisanewphenomenoninJapanesepoliticsandadministra-

tion.

5 Conclusion

Japan・spoliticalandadministrativesystemswerelongcriticizedasbeingbu-

reaucrat-led,butthe2009changeingovernmenthasservedtorevealtheproblems

withpolitician-ledgovernment.Whilethechangeprovidedevidencethatdemo-

craticrulesarefunctioninginJapan,thepolitician-ledgovernmentunderDPJrule

hasfurtherdiminishedtheautonomyandexpertiseofbureaucratsandhasthereby

forcedthepolicyprocesstodeteriorate.Inreality,thishasonlyservedtoclearly

revealproblemsthathavealwaysexistedinthesystem.Internationalcomparisons

pointtothelowpolicycapabilitiesoftheJapanesegovernment.52 Thebiggestprob-

lem isthatcontestabilityislackingatvariouslevelsinthepolicyprocess.First,

competitivemechanismsdonotfunctionfullyintheappointmentofexecutive-level

civilservants,partlybecauseopenrecruitmentandcross-ministerialpostinggener-

allydoesnottakeplace.Second,advisorycouncilsandotherorgansdonotfunction

asforumsforindependentanalysisandassessmentbythirdparties,andthereforedo

notacttoverifythepolicyproposalsofgovernmentministriesandagencies.Third,

withinthegovernment,theCabinetSecretariatandothercentralorgansarenot

givensufficientpolicy-relatedfunctionstoconfronttheministriesandagencieswith

jurisdiction.53

UndertheNodaAdministration,someeffortshavebeenmadetocorrectthe

excessesofpolitician-ledgovernment.Giventherapidlyfallingbirthrateandaging

society,thecommitmenttocomprehensivereform ofsocialsecurityandtaxesis

certainlylaudable.Butthefactofthematteristhatlittleprogresshasbeenmadein

theprocessesofpolicyexaminationandcoordination.Australia・sexperiencewith

comprehensivereform presentsaninterestingcounterpointtoJapan・scomprehen-

sivereformofsocialsecurityandtaxes.InDecember2007,Australia・sLaborParty

returnedtopowerforthefirsttimeinelevenyears.InMay2008,theTreasurer

announcedthatacomprehensivereformoftaxesandsocialsecuritywouldbeun-

dertakenandappointedadeliberativepanelforthispurpose.54 InAugust,thegov-

ernmentpublishedadiscussionpaperoncurrentconditionsandproblemsrelatedto

taxationandincometransfer.Respondingtothis,thepanelspentthenext18

monthsholdinghearingsanddeliberations.Hearingswereheldthroughoutthe

countrytogathertheviewsofthepeopleandtoexchangeopinionswithexperts,

followedbyanalysisandexaminationofdata.Theprocessculminatedinthepres-

entationofrecommendationstothegovernmentonthedirectionofreforms.The

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan18

differencewiththeprocessfollowedinJapanfortheintroductionoftheChildAl-

lowanceSystemisstarklyobvious.

Japanfindsitselfinasituationtodaywheredifficultstructuralreformsmustbe

implemented.Whilefairnessshouldcertainlybeaconsideration,coolheadedanaly-

sis,deliberationandcoordinationbasedonsoliddataareindispensable.Assuch,

Japanfacesanurgentneedtoreviewandrevampitspolicyprocessbecausethese

conditionscannotbeeasilymetifJapancontinuestoemploythesameprocessesas

inthepast.Thereareanumberofprerequisitesforgoodpolicyformulation,which

theWorldBank(2010,5)hasenumeratedasfollows:(1)politicalauthorityand

technicalexpertiseatthecenter-of-government,(2)anorganizationalsystem that

coordinatespolicymaking,(3)seniorpublicservantswhoprovideexpertpolicy

adviceandcoordinatebetweenpolicymakingandimplementation,(4)strongcapac-

ityofthelineministries,(5)strongcapacityofthelegislature,(6)activealternative

channelsofpolicyadvice.Sadly,inmostoftheseareas,theJapanesesystemcannot

besaidtobesufficientlydeveloped.

1 Otake(1990,269)states,・Theanalysisofpolicy-making,morethananythingelse,con-

sistsofexpertanalysisoftheprocess,andfindingsarenotdirectlyusefulforevaluating

orcriticizingthecontentofpolicies.・

2 AdolinoandBlake(2001,10)referto・intentionalcoursesofactiondesignedbygovern-

mentbodiesandofficialstoaccomplishaspecificgoalorobjective,・whileOECD(2007,

10)definesadeliberateactionofgovernmentthatinsomewayaltersorinfluencesthe

societyoreconomyoutsidethegovernment.Othersfocusondecision-making,suchas

Dye(2007,2),・anythingagovernmentchoosestodoornottodo,・andHowlettand

Ramesh(2003,8),・acomplexphenomenonconsistingofnumerousdecisionsmadeby

numerousindividualsandorganizationsingovernment.・

3 Ito,TanakaandMabuchi(2000,34)offerthefollowingdefinition.・Thepoliticalprocess

consistsofnegotiationsandtransactionsthatarebasedonactivitiesundertakenbysuch

actorsaspoliticians,politicalparties,bureaucrats,interestgroupsandcitizensinpursuit

ofrealizingtheirowninterests.Inthiscontext,policyprocessspecificallyreferstothe

processthroughwhichpoliciesaremadeandimplemented.・

4 Forinstance,Jones(1984)haselevenstages,Birkland(2005)andBreweranddeLeon

(1983)havesixstages,andAdolinoandBlakehavefivestages.Lundqvist(1980)posits

threestagesinpolicyselection.

5 Nakamura(1996)arguesthatpolicy-processpatternsandthetypeandbehavioralpat-

ternsofactorsinvolvedinpolicyprocessaredeterminedbythenature,characteristics

andtypeofpolicy.Nakamichi(2005)statesthattheexistenceandbehavioralpatterns

ofinfluentialactorsandtherelationsbetweenpoliticiansandbureaucratsalsodiffer

accordingtothetypeofpolicy.

6 Developmentsanddetailsoftherevisionsexaminedinthispaperareprimarilytaken

fromAnnualReportonHealth(Labour)andWelfare,andfromnewspaperarticles.For

detailsofpolicyprocessesrelatedtopensionreform,seeShinkawa(2004).

7 Referringto・comparativepolicy-processanalysis,・Otake(1990)statesthatthisap-

proachis・unlikeconventionalcomparativestudiesofpoliticalorganizationsandinstitu-

tions,suchaspoliticalpartiesandtheparliament,andisinsteadaform ofmacro

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 19

Notes

comparativeanalysisthat,whilefocusingonaspecificpolicyarea,attemptstoexamine

decision-makingstructuresandfurthermoretoidentifythegeneralcharacteristicsofthe

politicalsystem.・(p.162)Theanalyticalframeworkofthispaperresemblesthis.Intheir

policyprocessmodel,SpillerandTommasi(2003)considerthecausalmechanismsin

fundamentalinstitutionsandhistory,therulesofthegameinpolicyformation,the

balanceininteractionamongactors,thepolicy-makingprocess,andthecharacteristics

ofindividualpolicies.Thepresentpapertakesthesameapproach.

8 AsahiShimbun(AsahiNewsPaper),October19,1998

9 AsahiShimbun,October20,1998

10 Accordingto・AgendafortheEconomicandFiscalPolicyCouncilduring2003・(dated

January20,2003,anddraftedbyanon-governmentmemberofCEFP),pensionreform

wasincludedintheagendafor2003,andthesubjectwasdiscussedinmeetingsheldon

February20,April1and16,May28,June9,October3,andNovember18and28.For

detailsoftheinvolvementofCEFPinthe2004pensionreform,seeOta(2006).

11 TheMinistryofHealth,LabourandWelfarehadinitiallyproposedraisinginsurance

premiumsfrom thecurrent13.58% to20%.However,thismetwithstrongopposition

fromthebusinesscommunity,whicharguedthat20%wastoohigh.Withinthegovern-

mentandrulingcoalition,therewasaclashofopinionbetweenthePrimeMinister・s

Office,whichfavoredan18%ceiling,andtheMinistryandtheNewKomeito,whichwere

unwillingtogobelow18.5%inordertopreservethe50%benefitlevel.Followingheated

negotiations,acompromisewasreachedtosettheceilingat18.35%(Shinkawa2004,

323).

12 NihonKeizaiShimbun(NihonKeizaiNewsPaper),January31,2004

13 AsahiShimbun,February5,2004

14 NihonKeizaiShimbun,February21,2004

15 AnexceptiontothiswastheGovernment・sTaxSystemResearchCouncilwhosemem-

bershiphadundergonesomechanges.Regardingthereviewofincometaxexemptions

fordependents,somedataweresubmittedtotheCouncilontheexpectedincreaseintax

revenuesresultingfrom theabolitionofincometaxdeductionsfordependents.How-

ever,theonlyreferencetochildallowanceswascontainedinadocumententitled

・PersonalIncomeTaxation(OutstandingIssues),・whichwasdistributedattheCoun-

cil・s8thmeetingforfiscalyear2009(November17).Thedocumentmerelynotedthat,

・Inlightofongoingdiscussionsontheintroductionofchildallowances,thoughtisbeing

giventoabolishingdeductionsfordependentsinthefiscalyear2010revision.How

shouldthisbeapproached?・

16 TheDPJproposalinitiallydraftedbyChiefDeputySecretaryGeneralTamimitsu

Takashima(SecretaryGeneralofDPJCaucusoftheHouseofCouncilors)madenomen-

tionofincomecapsforchildallowanceeligibility.However,IchiroOzawainstructedhis

aidestogatherthenecessaryinformationandindependentlycalculatedhowmuchthe

systemwouldcostifincomecapswereintroduced.Basedontheresults,Ozawadecided

toadvocatetheintroductionofanincomecap(YomiuriShimbun(YomiuriNews

Paper),December20,2009).

17 AsahiShimbun,December17,2009

18 NihonKeizaiShimbun,December22,2009

19 Thiswasa・desperatemeasuretakenformaintainingthelevelofcontributionsbylocal

governments.・(MainichiShimbun(MainichiNewsPaper),December27,2009)Negotia-

tionsinvolvingthethreehighest-rankingofficersoftheMinistryofFinance,Ministryof

Health,LabourandWelfare,andtheMinistryofHomeAffairshadfailedtoreacha

conclusion.Itwasreportedthatbureaucratsfromthethreeministriesthenhammered

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan20

togetheracompromiseandconvincedthepoliticianstogoalongwiththeirproposed

solution,whichkepttheexistingChildBenefitsSystemaspartofthenewChildAllow-

anceSystemandrequiredlocalgovernmentsandemployeestobearpartoftheburden

ofthesystem.

20 DevelopmentsprecedingtheintroductionoftheChildAllowanceSystembytheDPJare

asfollows.In1999,alegislativebillwassubmittedbyDietmembersfortheintroduction

ofachildallowancesystem(witha12million-yenincomecap)combinedwiththeabo-

litionoftaxdeductionsfordependentchildren.In2006,abillwassubmittedbyDiet

membersforasystemfeaturingnoincomecap,andfullytax-basedmonthlypayments

of16,000yenperchilduntiltheendofjuniorhighschool.Thisproposalrequiredno

additionalfiscaloutlaysasthemonthlypaymentsof16,000yenweretobefinanced

throughtheabolitionoftaxdeductionsforspouses,etc.However,intheJanuary2007

Dietquestionandanswersessionbypartyrepresentatives,DPJRepresentativeIchiro

Ozawastatedthata6-trillion-yenchildallowanceprogramwastobecreated.Dividing

thisamountbythenumberofchildrennationwideyieldedthemonthlyamountof26,000

yen.Thatistosay,thefigureof26,000yenpermonthwasnotbasedondiscussionsand

consensusarrivedatwithintheDPJ,butwasinstead・anunprincipled10,000yenadd-on

resultingfromatop-downdirective.・(MainichiShimbun,February28,2010)

21 YomiuriShimbun,March27,2010

22 TheNationalInstituteforResearchAdvancement(1998,34)statesthat,・Policyissues

arecreatedthroughtheprocessofdefinition...andareartificialconstructs.Itisforthis

reasonthatpolicyissuesareeasilyusedforpoliticalpurposes.・

23 Forexample,theNationalPersonnelAuthority(1999)statesthefollowing:・Civilser-

vantsoftheresponsibleadministrativedepartmentdraftapolicyproposal,whiletaking

intoaccountsuchfactorsasnecessity,levelofpriorityandimplementability.Thedraft

isthensubmittedforbasicapprovalwithintherelevantministry,includingapprovalby

theminister.Inthenextstep,thedraftundergoesadjustmentinconsultationsheldwith

relatedgovernmentministriesandagenciesandinterestedparties.Atthesametime,

approvalforthedraftisobtainedwithinthegovernmentandtherulingpartybeforeit

isfinalizedasapolicyproposal.Inthefinalstage,formalproceduresarecompleted

withintheexecutivebranch,includingapprovalbytherelevantministerandbythe

Cabinet.Becausethisrepresentsthemostcommonlyseenpolicy-makingprocessin

Japan,itleadstotheargumentthatpolicy-makinginJapanisledbythebureaucracy.・

24 Adocumententitled・BasicGuidelines・wasalsoissuedwhentheHatoyamaCabinetwas

firstformed(September16,2009),andcontainedthefollowingpoints.・Thetraditional

practiceofpriorreviewbytherulingpartyshallbeabolished,andthedualdecision-

makingstructureseparatingthegovernmentfromtherulingpartyshallbereplacedby

anintegrateddecision-makingframework.Thisshallbedonetopreventthecreationof

Dietmembersbeholdentospecialinterests.・・TheAdministrativeVice-MinistersMeet-

ingandotherinstitutionsthathaveexisteduntilnow shallbeabolished.Hereafter,

governmentdecisionsshallnotbedelegatedtopriorcoordinationbyadministrative

vice-ministersandotherbureaucrats.・

25 InBritain,toavoidbeingboundbypledges,manifestosarenotnecessarilydetailedor

specific(Blair2010).UndertheBlairCabinet,PublicServicesAgreementsspecifying

policyprioritiesandgoalsfortheforthcomingthreeyearswereformulated.Thistype

ofapproachshouldhavebeenconsideredinJapan.ForcontentsofPublicServices

Agreement,seeTanaka(2005).Thedocumententitled・ReformingtheBudgetCompila-

tionProcess・(approvedbytheCabinetonOctober23,2009),whichsummarizesthe

outcomeofdiscussionsledbytheNationalStrategyBureau,statesthata・system for

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 21

disclosureoftheachievementofpolicyobjectives・wouldbeadopted.However,sucha

systemisyettobeintroduced.

26 TheCouncilonNationalStrategyandPolicyischairedbytheprimeminister.Thechief

cabinetsecretaryandstateministerinchargeofnationalstrategyserveasitsvice-

chairmen.Othermembersconsistoffourministers(MinistriesofHomeAffairs,Foreign

Affairs,Finance,andEconomy,TradeandIndustry),governoroftheBankofJapan,and

fivenon-governmentmembersfromtheprivatesector.TheCouncilwascreatedbased

onacabinetdecision.CEFPcontainedvariousarrangementsandmechanismstohelpit

functionasthecommandpostforpromotingreform.Theseweretheleadershipofthe

primeminister,thesettingoftheagendafordiscussionsbasedonpaperspreparedby

non-governmentmembers,andtheresult-orientedmanagementofmeetings.TheCoun-

cilonNationalStrategyandPolicylacksallofthesefunctionsandcannotbesaidtobe

a・commandpost・initspresentform.

27 TheMinistryofHealth,LabourandWelfarehasexplainedthattheBasicPensionSys-

tem isa・universalnationalpensionprogram.・However,auniversalpensionprogram

cannotbe implementedbyasocialinsuranceapproachbasedontheprincipleof

・contributions.・InCanadaandothercountriesthathaveadopteduniversalpension

programs,costsarenecessarilybornebythegeneraltaxes.Fordetails,seeTanaka

(2011).

28 Ito(2007,33�34)statesthefollowing:・Informationandknowledgeconstitutepowerful

resourcesforthebureaucracy.Capitalizingontheasymmetricalaccesstoinformation

thatexistsbetweenthebureaucracyandthePrimeMinister・sOffice,thebureaucrats

expand thescopeoftheirdiscretionary powers. Responding tothis,thePrime

Minister・sOfficeusestheinformationandknowledgeavailabletoitsstafforganizations

anddeliberativecouncilstoreducethisasymmetryininformation.・

29 ChikaraSakaguchi,thethenMinisterofHealth,LabourandWelfare,isquotedasfol-

lows:・SubscriberstotheNationalPensionSystem werebearingaheavyburdenbut

receivingrelativelylittle.So,thedecisionwasmadethatthegovernmentwouldcontrib-

utehalf.Thishadtobedonebecauseotherwisethesituationwouldhavebeenunfair

comparedtopeoplebelongingtotheEmployees・PensionSystemandMutualAidAsso-

ciationPensionSchemes.Discussionsofpensionreformwerepredicatedonraisingthe

Treasury・scontributionrateto50%.・(NihonKeizaiShimbun,December15,2011)・Sub-

sidy・isnotbornebythegovernmentbutispaidforbythepeople.Theburdenonthe

peopledoesnotchange,whetherthemoneycomesfrom socialinsurancepremiumsor

fromtaxes.Thus,itcanbesaidthatraisingthesubsidyrateto50% actuallybenefits

relativelywealthierindividualscoveredbytheEmployees・PensionSystem.

30 SomeOECDcountriesappointindependentcommissionsonfiscalmatterschargedwith

conductingindependentanalysisandassessmentofsuchfactorsasfiscalsustainability

andinter-generationalfairness,andsubmittingrecommendationstothegovernment.

SuchfunctionscouldhavebeenassignedtoCEFP.

31 Casesof・eliminationofbureaucrats・aretoonumeroustoenumerate.Meetingsofthe

topthreeministryofficersareheldbehindcloseddoors,andbureaucratsarenotallowed

tobepresent,withtheexceptionoftheMinistryoftheEconomy,TradeandIndustry

(NihonKeizaiShimbun,November3,2009).IntheMinistryofHealth,LabourandWel-

fare,bureaucratsrequestingmeetingswithMinisterAkiraNagatsumatobebriefedon

policiesarefrequentlyforcedtowaitonetotwoweeks(NihonKeizaiShimbun2010,

306).WhentheHatoyamaAdministrationorganizeda・policygrandprix,・anonlinecall

forpolicyrecommendations,responseswerereceivedfrom evenbureaudirectorsand

assistantvice-ministers.・Thefactthatbureaudirectors,whopresumablyaremeeting

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan22

theministeronaregularbasis,chosetomailtheirproposalsinsteadofconveyingthem

directlytotheministerissymbolicofthepresentrelationsbetweenpoliticiansand

bureaucrats.・(YomiuriShimbun,April19,2010)ParliamentarySecretaryKeisuke

Tsumura(CabinetOffice)statedpubliclythat,・Iwilltakeoveralltheworkofthead-

ministrativevice-minister.・AsParliamentarySecretaryTsumurafiredoffhisinstruc-

tions,AdministrativeVice-MinisterJunjiHamano,whostoodtohisright,foundno

opportunitytospeak(AsahiShimbun,January15,2010).

32 IntheupperhousequestionandanswersessionbypartyrepresentativesheldonOcto-

ber30,2009,PrimeMinisterHatoyamagavethefollowinganswertoaquestion.・Ibelieve

thatinmostcases,membersofdeliberativecouncilswereinfactbeingselectedbythe

secretariatoftheministryincharge.Thus,bureaucratswereselectingindividuals

whomtheyfoundtobeconvenient,andthebureaucracywasplayingaleadingrolein

makingpolicydecisions.Deliberativecouncilssupportedandpromotedthissystem...

From hereonward...thethreeprincipalministerialofficersshallbeheldaccountable,

andpoliticianswillplayaleadingroleintheselectionofcouncilmembers.Weintendto

reviewnotonlytheissueofthechoiceofmembersbutalsootheraspectsthatrelate

directlytotheoperationofcouncils.・

33 ItcanbesaidthatDPJpoliticiansunderestimatedtheimportanceofanalysisandexami-

nationinthepolicyprocess.Forexample,NaotoKanwasquotedasfollowsbeforethe

DPJcametopower.・Highwaytollsshouldbeabolishedrightaway.Thatisveryeasyto

understand.Ittakestenyearstobuildahighway,butyouneedonlythreemonthsof

preparationtoabolishhighwaytolls.・(AsahiShimbun,April8,2009)

34 TheInstituteforResearchonHouseholdEconomicsinvestigatedhowchildallowances

werebeingusedandconcludedthat,asobservedoverashort-termperiodofoneyear,

childallowanceshadnotresultedinincreased(additional)expenditureonchildren.The

NationalStrategyBureaustatedthatithadnotkeptrecordsandotheradministrative

documentsfrom hearingsithadconductedwiththeMinistryofHealth,Labourand

Welfareduringtheyear-endbudgetcompilationprocess(MainichiShimbun,March22,

2010).

35 Concerningthesepractices,theLDPitselfhasengagedinthefollowingself-criticism.

・InthemanagementofLDPadministrations,thetopthreeministerialofficersfrequently

delegatedtheirresponsibilityforpolicycoordinationbetweentherulingpartyandthe

governmenttothebureaucracy.Asaresult,bureaucratswerepermittedtoeffectively

interveneinpolicy-makingbyusingtheirclosetiestoso-called・special-interestDiet

members,・givingrisetoasituationthatcouldnotbeavoidbeingcriticizedasbeing

・bureaucrat-ledgovernment.・(Liberal-DemocraticPartyPolicyResearchCouncil2010,

2)

36 AnexampleisthecollisionbetweenAgriculture,ForestryandFisheriesMinister

ShigeruIshibaandLDPDietmemberswithspecialinterestsinagricultureundertheAso

Administration.WhenMinisterIshibaproposedtheintroductionofan・optionalsys-

tem・permittingindividualfarminghouseholdstochoosewhethertheywouldpartici-

pateintheadjustmentschemeforriceproduction,LDPspecialinterestDietmembersfor

whomproductionadjustmentconstitutedafundamentalcommitmentobjectedvocifer-

ously.Consequently,theIshibaproposalfailedtobecomepolicy.Inameetingofthe

executivecouncilofLDPDietmemberswithspecialinterestsinagricultureheldon

March12,2009,ChairmanKoyaNishikawaoftheCommitteeonBasicAgriculturalPoli-

ciesstatedthatthe・Dietisthehighestorganofstatepower,・indicatingthatheintended

toignorethegovernment・sposition.Othermembersarereportedtohavesignaledtheir

approval(SankeiShimbun,March13,2009).

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 23

37 FunctioningunderthedirectjurisdictionofthePrimeMinister・sOfficeunderPrime

MinisterJunichiroKoizumi,theNationalVisionCommitteeoftheLDPNationalStrat-

egyHeadquartersputtogetheraproposalforreformingthepolicy-makingsystem in

March2002.Atthecoreoftheproposalwerethe・threeKoizumiprinciples,・which

containedsuchprovisionsaseliminatingpriorpartyapprovalasaprecondition,and

policycoordinationinMinisterialMeetings.TheproposalwasnotapprovedbytheLDP

andmostofitsproposalswerenotadopted.KaoruYosanomadethefollowingcomment

inanewspaperinterview givenafterhisappointmentasstateministerinchargeof

economicandfiscalpolicyinNovember2005,indicatingthatnochangehadbeenmade

intheconventionalcoordinationmodel.・Mypersonalpositionisthatpolicycontents

andtimingofdecision-makingshouldbeundertakenjointlyandsimultaneouslywith

therulingparty.Ifoneprecedestheother,thecoordinationprocesstakesmoretime,and

ultimatelythetotalcostishigher.Itisnaturalfortheretobedifferencesinposition

betweenthegovernmentandrulingparty.Whatisimportantistomaketheeffortto

unify(coordinate)thesepositions.・(NihonKeizaiShimbun,December2,2005)

38 ExamplesincludetheconfrontationbetweenLand,InfrastructureandTransportMinis-

terSeijiMaeharaandStateMinisterYoshitoSengokuforNationalStrategyoverthe

ceilingontollsfortheHonshu-ShikokuHighway;theconfrontationbetweenEducation

MinisterTatsuoKawabataandStateMinisterYukioEdanoforGovernmentRevitaliza-

tionoverthereformofindependentadministrativecorporations;and,theconfrontation

betweenHealth,LabourandWelfareMinisterAkiraNagatsumaandHomeAffairsMin-

isterKazuhiroHaraguchioverfull-amountpaymentofchildallowances.

39 Ultimately,thisisaproblem ofpartydiscipline.・Ifpartydisciplineisweak,interest

groupswillhaveamuchbetterchanceofinfluencingthevotersofmembersofthe

legislature.・(AdolinoandBlake2001,48)

40 AccordingtoAsahiShimbun(February25,2010),atotalof30meetingwereheldduring

2009foreightministerialcommittees(including11onbasicpoliciesandsevenonbudget

compilation).During2010,onlythreemeetingswereheld,allinJanuary.Machidori

(2008,54)states,・Itistruethenewinstitutionalframeworkhadgreatpoliticalandpolicy

potential,asprovenbytheKoizumiAdministration.Butrealizingthispotentialrequires

acertaincontextaswellasstrategiesandtacticsonthepartofactors.・Inpractice,the

DPJAdministrationlackedthestrategiesandtacticstomakethesystemwork.

41 FormerDeputyChiefCabinetSecretaryTeijiroFurukawaidentifiesthefunctionsof

AdministrativeVice-MinistersMeetingstobethefollowing:(1)confirmingthatanissue

hasbeensufficientlycoordinatedbeforesubmissiontothecabinet,(2)conveyingthe

primeminister・sinstructionstothetopadministrativeofficersingovernmentministries

andagencies,and(3)sharingandconveyingofinformation(NihonKeizaiShimbun

Shuppansha2010,494).UndertheDPJadministrations,becausetheagendawascon-

trolledbythetopthreepoliticiansofgovernmentministriesandagencies,theadminis-

trativevice-ministerswerenotinformedofthedetailsandthereforecouldnotactin

liaisonandcoordinatingcapacities.

42 Forinstance,analyzingthebehaviorofCanada・sdeputyministerswhoareadministra-

tivetopofficials,Schacter(1999)pointsoutthatdeputyministershavetherequisite

skillstoworkacrossthegovernment,gatherinformationtosupporttheminister・sgoal,

andengageincoordinationonthedeputy-ministerleveltoensurethattheminister・s

initiativereachesotherministers.

43 ThemeetingofthegovernmentandtopthreeDPJofficerscomprisesthefollowingsix

members:PrimeMinister,ChiefCabinetSecretary,DPJSecretaryGeneral,Chairmanof

thePolicyResearchCommittee,ChairmanoftheDietAffairsCommittee,andActing

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan24

SecretaryGeneral.Accordingtothismaterial,thepurposeofthisdecision-making

methodistobringthecabinetandtherulingpartytogetherinpromotingpolicies.The

materialalsostatesthatthisdoesnotcontradicttheprincipleofunifyingthepolicy-

makingprocessunderthegovernment,andthatthismethodisdifferentfrom the

methodofpriorexaminationandconsultationpracticedunderLDPadministrations.

44 ThestatusoftheAdministrativeVice-MinistersMeetingchangedundertheKanAd-

ministration.IntheMinisterialMeetingheldonDecember28,2010,ChiefCabinetSecre-

taryYoshitoSengokumadethefollowingrequestconcerningmeetingsofthetopthree

politiciansofgovernmentministries.・Wewantthegovernmentandbureaucracyto

workwithinaunifiedframework.Therefore,whereverpossible,werequestthatyou

allowadministrativevice-ministers,thedirectoroftheminister・ssecretariatandother

membersofthebureaucracytobepresentinyourmeetings.・(MainichiShimbun,De-

cember29,2010)OnJanuary21,2011,PrimeMinisterNaotoKaninvitedalladministra-

tivevice-ministerstothePrimeMinister・sOfficialResidenceandadmittedthat,with

respecttopolicycoordination,politician-ledgovernmenthadincertainareasgonetoo

faraftertheDPJhadcometopower.PrimeMinisterKanthenexplainedthatthefunc-

tionofpolicycoordinationwouldnolongerberestrictedtothetopthreepoliticians,and

thattheparticipationofadministrativevice-ministersandbureauchiefswouldhence-

forthbeallowed(YomiuriShimbun,January22,2011).

45 DeliberativecouncilsunderDPJadministrationshavefacedthesameproblem.For

instance,membershipoftheCouncilonIntensiveDeliberationonSocialSecurityReform

comprisesthefollowing.First,theCouncilhassevenexecutivemembersconsistingof

theprimeministerandrelatedcabinetministers.From theDPJ,ChairmanYoshito

SengokuoftheDPJResearchCouncilonFundamentalReform ofSocialSecurityand

Taxationisamember.From thePeople・sNew Party,ChairmanAkikoKameiof

People・sNewPartyPolicyResearchCouncilisamember.Expertmembersincludetwo

personsfromthebusinesscommunity,onepersonfromlaborunions,threescholars,and

fourotherexperts.Itisdifficulttodeterminewhatpowersandresponsibilitiesarevest-

edinacouncilconsistingofcabinetministers,rulingpartymembersandprivateindi-

viduals.

46 ExamplesincludeappointmentsoftheCommissioneroftheJapanTourism Agency,

Vice-MinisterforInternalAffairsandCommunicationsandSectionChiefs,andexecu-

tiveofficersofindependentadministrativecorporations.OnDecember25,2009,Land,

InfrastructureandTransportMinisterSeijiMaeharaannouncedthedismissalofthe

JapanTourismAgencyCommissionerYoshiakiHonpoandtheappointmentofHiroshi

Mizohata(aged49),aformerbureaucratoftheMinistryofInternalAffairsandCommu-

nications(NihonKeizaiShimbun,January8,2010).ItissaidthatMinisterMaehara

basedthisappointmentonpersonalfriendship.IntheappointmentofthePresidentof

theWelfareandMedicalServiceAgency,anindependentadministrativecorporation,the

SelectionCommitteeexamined56applicationsreceivedforthepostandnominated

ChikafusaAoyagi,aformercareerbureaucratoftheMinistryofHealth,Labourand

Welfare.However,thenominationwasrejectedbyHealth,LabourandWelfareMinister

AkiraNagatsuma,andanewrecruitmentcyclewasstarted.TheSelectionCommittee

onceagainnominatedChikafusaAoyagiasitssolecandidate.MinisterNagatsuma

againrejectedthenominationonthegroundsthat・Mr.Aoyagihasahistoryofclashing

withtheMinisterofHealth,LabourandWelfareontheissueofpensions.・(Yomiuri

Shimbun,April16,2010)

47 NihonKeizaiShimbun,January30,2010

48 AsahiShimbun,January8,2010

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan 25

49 InBritainandotherWestminstercountries,theprimeministerandcabinetministers

basicallydonothaveauthorityoverpersonnelmanagementofcivilservants.Thepre-

sentauthordoesnotopposeallformsofpoliticalappointmentofcivilservants.For

instance,advisorsandstaffstoministersshouldbemadeaspoliticalappointmentsto

directlyreflectthewishesoftheminister.

50 Muramatsu(2010)conductedinterviewsurveysofbureaucratsandothersbetweenthe

mid-1970sand2003.Posingthequestion,・Whataretheconditionsforgoodpolicy-mak-

ing?・Muramatsuofferedrespondentsthefollowingfourchoices:(1)clearinstructions

fromlegislativebranch,(2)discretionaryauthorityofadministrativeofficerswithinthe

boundsofcertainguidelines,(3)gatheringtheviewsofvariousorganizations,(4)expert

analysis.Inthesecondandthirdsurveys,veryfewrespondentschoseresponses(3)and

(4),whilemorethan80% choseeither(1)or(2)(Muramatsu2010,75).Partlyinself-

admonition,NobuharuOkamitsu,formeradministrativevice-ministeroftheMinistryof

HealthandWelfare,haswrittenasfollows:・Intheexistingcareersystem,moreimpor-

tancetendstobeassignedtofrontlineskills(includinglobbyingtopreparetheground-

workandthe・politicsofgive-and-take・).Thishashadadeterminingeffectparticularly

onthebehaviorofbureaucratswhoparticipateinpolicyformulation.Asaresult,there

hasbeenatendencytopaylessattentiontoensuringanddevelopingthehighlevelsof

expertiseneededinproblemsolving.・(Okamitsu2002,254)

51 Tanaka(2007)hassuggestedtheintroductionofseniorexecutiveservicetoencourage

competitionamongexecutive-levelcivilservants.

52 Toconductinternationalcomparisonsofthestrategiccapabilitiesoftheexecutive

branchofgovernment,BertelsmannStiftung(2009)developedtheSustainableGovern-

anceIndicators(SGI)basedonaStatusIndex(SI),whichevaluatesthestatusofdemoc-

racyandeconomicandpolicy-specificperformanceofacountry,andtheManagement

Index(MI),whichevaluatesexecutivecapacityandexecutiveaccountability.Criteria

forMIconsistsof(1)steeringcapability(cabinetcomposition,strategiccapacity,inter-

ministerialcoordination,regulatoryimpactanalysis,societalcooperation,policycom-

municationofgovernmentpolicies),(2)resourceefficiency(legislativeefficiency,an-

ticipationofvetoplayers,effectiveimplementation),(3)internationalcooperation

(domesticadaptability,externaladaptability),(4)institutionallearning(organizational

reform capacity).Japanscores5.50onMI,whichplacesitin21stplaceamongthe30

OECDmembercountries.Norwayscoresthehighest(8.48),whileGreecescoresthe

lowest(3.33).IntermsofSI,Japanisranked22nd.

53 Amongforeigncountries,Britain・sStrategyUnitfunctionstosupporttheprimeminis-

terandthecabinet.Foracomparativeanalysisofsuchorganizations,seeWorldBank

(2010).

54 ThepanelwaschairedbyDr.KenHenry(SecretarytotheDepartmentoftheTreasury).

OtherpanelistswereDr.JeffHarmer(SecretarytotheDepartmentofFamilies,Housing,

CommunityServicesandIndigenousAffairs);ProfessorJohnPiggott(theUniversityof

NewSouthWales);Ms.HeatherRidout(theAustralianIndustryGroup);andProfessor

GregSmith(theAustralianCatholicUniversity).ItshouldbenotedthattheAustralian

systemdiffersfromtheJapanese.InAustralia,strictpoliticalneutralityisdemandedof

allcivilservantsrisingallthewayuptodepartmentsecretaries.Civilservantsarealso

expectedtofunctionasexperts.

Iio,Jun(2011).・Naikakukanryosei― tochinoryokunokojotowareru・(Cabinetand

Policy-MakingProcessandRelationshipsbetweenPoliticiansandBureaucratsinJapan26

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1.Introduction

AccordingtotheWHO(2008),thegroupofseriousmentalillnessesclassedas

schizophrenicdisordersrepresentthethirdmostprevalentdiseaseforpeopleaged

from15to44.Evenso,thefieldofpsychiatryhasyettodiscoveracureforthiskind

ofillness,andtreatmentsthatcurrentlyexistareextremelylimited(Davidsonetal.,

2010).Consequently,thetraditionalideaof・communityintegration・,basedonthe

assumptionthatpeoplewhobenefitfromcareandrecoverwillre-entercommunity

life,doesnotapplytothosewithseriousmentalillness.Thisconsiderationisleading

31

Abstract

Formorethantwentyyears,socialcooperativeshaverepresentedasustainable

socialbusinessmodelofworkingwithdisadvantagedworkers,includingthemen-

tallydisabled.Intheseorganizations,whichencourageworkerstobecomemembers

andco-owners,astress-freeworkenvironmentisfosteredinwhicheveryonecan

developcreativesolutionstoproblems,makedecisionsaffectingthewellbeingof

others,anddealwithemotions.Sinceinception,theyhavecreatedthousandsofjobs

andcareerpathsfordisadvantagedworkersandgiventhemthechancetofeelfully

apartofthecommunity.Thecontentionthatisarguedinthispaperisthatthereare

threemajorfactorswhichaccountforthesustainabilityandgrowthofthismodel:

goodregulation;asupportivesystemofinfrastructures;anddemocraticoperational

governance.Thesemakethesocialcooperativeaninspiringexampleoftheoutcomes

thatarepossiblewhendisadvantagedworkersareproperlytrainedinasupportive

environment;itisamodelwhichcouldwellprovesimilarlysuccessfulifcopiedin

otherpartsoftheworld.

Thescopeofthisstudywastoexploreorganizationalgoalsandrepertoiresas

wellassupportstructuresandnetworksofsocialcooperativesinordertoidentifythe

majorfactorswhichmakethisbusinessmodelsosuccessful.Theauthordrawsonhis

recentworkonsocialcooperativesandpresentssecondarydataonB-typesocial

cooperatives,includingacasestudy.

Keywords:socialcooperatives,disadvantagedworkers,organizationalgoals&reper-

toires,supportstructure&network,Italy

DisabilityandEmploymentTheSocialCooperative

asaSustainableSocialBusinessModel

RosarioLaratta,Ph.D.

AssociateProfessor

GraduateSchoolofGovernance

MeijiUniversity,rosariolaratta@hotmail.com

toanewvisionof・recovery・withinthesocialpsychiatryandmentalhealthcommu-

nity,ashiftawayfrom communityintegrationtothemorepromisingideaof

・communityinclusion・,whichisnowacceptedglobally.Thisnewparadigmargues

thatpeoplewithlong-termpsychiatricdisabilityshouldbeacceptedandwelcomed

bytheircommunitieswithwhateverconditiontheymayhave,withouthavingtobe

cured,fixed,orotherwisemadetoconform toselectedsocietalnormsfirst.This

paradigm alsogeneratesanewunderstandingoftheconceptof・recovery・as・be-

inginrecovery・,whichmeansleadingadignifiedandfulfilledlifeinthefaceofan

ongoingmentalillness(asopposedtothemoretraditional/medicalideaof・re-

coveryfromdisorder・).

However,thisposesthequestionofhowtofostercommunityinclusionforpeo-

pleinrecovery.Onepossibleanswerhasbeenexploredwithinthelasthalfcentury,

however,largelywithinWesternEuropeancountriesandbeginning,atleastby

someaccounts,withtheworkofthehusbandandwifeteamofFrancoandFranca

Basaglia,innovatorsinthetreatmentofmentalhealthdisorders,andtheDemocratic

Psychiatrymovement(DP)theyhelpedtofoundinItalyinthe1960s(ibid).

TheinhumantreatmentofpsychiatricpatientsinmanypartsofItalyhadpro-

vokedmuchpublicdisquiet,asituationthatnodoubthelpedthemostradicalre-

form withinpsychiatrythatWesternEuropehadeverexperienced.Indeed,the

squalid,inhumanconditionsinasylumslikeGoriziabecamevaluabletoolsfor

FrancoBasagliawhenhewasdevelopingDPandgavecredencetohisstridentasser-

tionthatpsychiatristshadtobecomepoliticianswithinthesystem.Thepsychiatric

patients・realproblem wasnottheirmentalillnessbutratherthewaytheywere

treatedandhowtheywereviewed;inparticulartheirbeingtreatedasmiscreants

ratherthanpatients,leadingtotheirincarcerationandexclusionfrom therestof

community.Onceisolated,thepatientwouldalmostinevitablybecomesubjectedto

themostdehumanizingandhumiliatingregimewhere,asBasagliadisturbingly

describedit,・medicalideology[became]analibiforthelegislationofviolence・

(Basaglia,1964).

DPwasamainlyleftwingpoliticalorganizationofmentalhealthworkerswho,

by1978,werealreadyinvolvedindismantlingasylums,suchasthoseinParmaand

Trieste.Itsfundamentalprincipleswere:firstly,tocontinuethefightagainstsocial

exclusionthroughoutpsychiatry,bothintheworkplaceandinthewayinsanityis

representedandperceivedculturally;secondly,tocondemntheasylumitselfasthe

mostobviousandviolentparadigm ofexclusion;thirdly,topreventthereproduc-

tionofinstitutionalmechanismsinthecommunity;andfinally,toestablishaclear

linkbetweenhealthcareandmentalhealthcare,especiallythroughthereform of

theItalianmentalhealthcaresystem(S-Hughes&Lovell,1986).

In1977,DPassistedtheRadicalParty,amovementprimarilyconcernedwiththe

defenseofhumanrights,tocollecttogetherthree-quartersofamillionsignatureson

apetitiontoreformthementalhealthlegislationandtherebytobanadmissionto

mentalhospitals.UnderItalianlaw,suchapetitioncouldhaveforcedanational

referendumontheissuepossiblyprecipitatingacollapseofgovernment.Toavoid

suchadisaster,thegovernmentintroducedLaw 180inMay1978andthereby

DisabilityandEmployment32

initiatedthedismantlingoftheasylum.

Recentlyvacatedpartsofasylumswereputtootherusesandthisbecameakey

strategyforcommunityinclusionaswellasasteptowardrespectingtherightsof

theresidents.TheBasagliasterminatedthe・worktherapy・programthroughwhich

residentshadperformedmenialdomestictasksinexchangefortokensand,instead

ofpromotinganartificial・tokeneconomy・,institutedaprogramtoencourageresi-

dentswhowereableandinterestedtotakeonjobsinreturnforalevelofpaythey

wouldhavereceivedforsimilarworkinthecommunity.Thistransformationof

passiveorindenturedresidentsintocompetitiveworkersyieldedanenormousop-

portunityforemploymentinarangeofindustriesbeyondthedomesticandfood

services,withapproximatelyhalfoftheresidentpopulationexpressinganinterest

inworking.From thismodestbeginning,andconsistentwiththeprinciplethat

citizenshavetherighttoadecentwagefortheirmeaningfullabor,themodelof

socialcooperativeswasborn.

Today,socialcooperativesemployamixedworkforce,somewithdisabilities

andothersnot.Theseenterprisesareabletoremuneratetheiremployeesatalevel

comparabletotherestofthebusinesssectordrawingeitherongovernmentsubsi-

diesusedtocompensateforreducedproductivityor,whenpossible,ontheirown

self-sustainingproductivity.BeginningwiththeirinceptionintheTriesteasylum,

socialcooperativeshavesincebecomehighlyvisibleacrossthelocalbusinesssector,

atonepointaccountingfor45differentareasofoperation.Itis,infact,difficultto

spendanyamountoftimeinTriesteandnotcomeintocontactwithsomekindof

socialcooperative.Thismodelhassincebeenreplicatedinvariousformsinnumer-

ousEuropeancountriesandelsewhere.

Thisstudywillexploreorganizationalgoalsandrepertoiresaswellassupport

structureandnetworksofthesecooperativesinordertoidentifythemajorfactors

whichmakethissustainablebusinessmodelsosuccessful.

2.TheDevelopmentofSocialCooperativesinItaly

WiththeenactmentofLaw180in1978,nowcalledtheBasagliaLaw,itwas

decreedthatallasylumsandpsychiatrichospitalshadtobeclosedandtheirpsychi-

atricpatientstransferredtoalternativementalhealthservicesavailable,ortobe

madeavailable,inthecommunity.TheLawalsorequiredgeneralhospitalsserving

apopulationof200,000peopletoestablish15�bedunits,laterknowasDiagnosisand

Cureunits,forpsychiatricpatients.Ifaseriouslyillpersonrefusedtreatment,com-

pulsoryadmissionfornolongerthansevendayswaspermittedonlywiththeap-

provalatleasttwodoctorsandthecitymayor,withthelatteractingaschieflocal

healthofficerratherthaninanylegalcapacity,andtheirapprovalhadtobere-

viewedbyajudgeaftertwodays.Finally,inadditiontoprotectingexistingstaff

fromredundancy,Law180statedthatnonewasylums/mentalhospitalsweretobe

built,norexistingonesusedasannexes,bythegeneralhospitals.

TheperiodwhichimmediatelyfollowedtheenactmentofthenewLawwasnot

aneasyoneforlesswell-equippedhospitals.Somepsychiatricpatientsrelapsed

DisabilityandEmployment 33

becauseofthesuddentransitionintocommunitiesorfamiliesthatwerenotreadyto

welcomethem.Oneofthefirstobjectives,therefore,wastointroduceapsychosocial

processdirectedatre-integrationthroughwork,whichwasseenasoneofthemost

suitabletoolstoassistpsychiatricpatientstore-establishrelationshipswiththem-

selvesandtheworld.

Afirststepinthisstrategywastocreate・integratedcooperatives・atcommunity

level.Thesewerenonprofitbusinessesinwhichpsychiatricpatientsandotherdis-

advantagedpeople(suchastheunemployed,homeless,andimmigrants)would

workandtakeonco-ownershipunderprofessionalguidance.Thisguidancecould

comefrom ex-asylum staffwho,althoughre-employedingeneralhospitalsasre-

quiredbylaw,werelookingtoboosttheirsalaries,orfromdoctorswhohadprevi-

ouslyknowntheworkersaspatients.

Theworkersbecameregisteredunionmembersandreceivedasalaryinaccor-

dancewithstandardunioncontractsforeachcategoryofwork.Althoughthepro-

fessionalmentorspropagatedakindofhierarchicalsystemwithinthecooperatives,

theyprovidedmanymarginalizedpeoplewithworkopportunitiesthatwouldother-

wisehavebeendifficulttofindthroughconventionalmeans.Indeed,someworkers

madeapermanenttransitionfrom awelfareenvironmenttoaproductiveone

throughtheirparticipationinacooperative.Inthe1980s,integratedcooperatives

playedadecisiveroleindrivingthegrowthoftheItalianThirdSectoreventhough

theirdevelopmentwasforalongtimeonlypartiallysupportedwithinalegalframe-

work.

Itwasnotuntil1991,withtheintroductionofLaw no.381,thatthistypeof

co-operativewasrecognizedandgiventhenameof・socialcooperative・.TheLaw

createdadistinctionbetween:a)cooperativesdeliveringsocial,healthandeduca-

tionalservices,whichweredesignatedA�typeandconsistedmainlyofsocialor

healthworkersandprofessionals;andb)cooperativesproducinggoodsandsupply-

ingagricultural,industrial,commercialorotherservicesforprivatecustomersorfor

publicagencies,withtheobjectiveofachievingtheintegrationintoworkofdisad-

vantagedpeople.TheLaw381defines・disadvantagedpeople・asbarelyemployable

workerscomprisingpeoplewithseveredisabilities,peoplewithmentalillness,drug

addictsorpeopleinstateprisons,andspecifiesthattheymakeupamandatory

minimumof30%oftheworkers/membersofanyB�typesocialcooperative(Laratta

etal.,2010a).

Itmustbenotedthatwhiletheconceptofthesocialcooperativewasprobably

themostinnovativestrategyeveradoptedatcommunitylevelinItalianmental

healthcare,thisisnottosaythatotherinnovationsstemmingfromthegovernment

reformsof1994and1998werenotimportant.However,theyarenotwithinthescope

ofthispaperandsowillhavetobeexploredseparately.ThedistinctionbetweenA

�typeandB�typesocialcooperativeswasclearlynecessarybecauseLaw381pro-

videdfora33% exemptionfrom socialsecuritycontributionsforeachdisadvan-

tagedB�typeworkeremployed.

AnothersignificantfeatureofLaw 381wasthatitclearlydefinedthesocial

co-operativeasaworker-ownedorganization ofwhich participants(including

DisabilityandEmployment34

managersanddisadvantagedworkers),clients(peoplewhobenefitfrom services

providedbythecooperative),volunteers(whobylawcannotcomprisemorethan

50% ofthetotalworkforce),publicinstitutionsandfinancialbodies,canbecome

membersandmayshareinthedistributionofupto80% ofthetotalprofits.A

nationalsurveyonasampleof320socialcooperatives(ICSI2007)1showedthat,

whilsttheytendnaturallytoincludetheirmembersindecision-makingprocesses,

theclients,eventhoughlessinvolved,arealsooftenbroughtintotheprocessinfor-

mally.Ofthesocialcooperativessurveyed,98% includedworkers/volunteersin

theirmembership,and91% hadthem ontheirboardofdirectors;only9.4% could

countclientsasmembersoftheirorganization.Nevertheless,ononehand,having

volunteersinthemembershipandontheboardofdirectorscanbeconsideredasa

safeguardofclients・needs,sincesocialservicessectorvolunteersarefrequently

consideredas・substitute・clients.Ontheotherhand,halfofallsocialcooperatives

saytheyinvolvetheirclientsinstrategicdecisionmaking,whilenearlyallofthem

adviseandinvolvethem throughinformalcommunications.Characteristically,

Italiansocialcooperativeshaveahighlevelofmulti-stakeholdermembership.Just

underhalf(49.6%)ofthecooperativesstudiedincludediversestakeholdertypolo-

giesbothintheirmembershipandintheirboardofdirectors,andapproximatelya

third(32.2%)haveamulti-membership,withasingle-stakeholderboardofdirectors.

Inrecentyears,socialcooperativeshavebeenthemainengineforthesupplyof

socialservices.Theyhaveansweredthelimitedcapacityofpublicorganizations

andcompaniestomeettheneedsofspecificgroupsofpeople.Followingthere-

orientationofthepublicwelfaresysteminthe90s,withreformsintheprovisionof

socialservicesandthedevolutionofcontroltolocalauthorities,bothcentraland

localpublicauthorities,aswellastheiragencies,progressivelyoutsourcedthedeliv-

eryofservicestosocialcooperatives.In2005,almosthalfofthesocialspendingof

mediumandlarge-sizedItaliantownswasmanagedbysocialcooperativesandthey

wereawardedapproximately80% ofalllocalauthoritycontracts,ofwhicharound

70%resultedfromnegotiatedagreementsbetweenthetwosectors.Onlytheremain-

ing30% camefrom opencompetitivetenders(Larattaetal.,2010b).Thisatleast

partiallyexplainstheproliferationofsocialcooperatives,whichincreasedinnumber

fromalittleover1,000beforeregulationtonearly3,900in1996andreachednearly

12,000in2009(ibid).

3.B�typeSocialCooperatives:OrganizationalGoals&Repertoires

andSupportStructure&Networks

B�typesocialcooperativesspreadrapidlyoveraperiodofyearsthroughout

Italyandabroad.Theyalsounderwentamarkedevolutionintermsofbothorgan-

izationalgoalsandrepertoiresaswellasintheirsupportstructureandnetworks.

Asmentionedabove,socialcooperativesevolvedfrom whatwereknownas

・integratedcooperatives・whosepurposewasthestableintegrationofpsychiatric

patientsandotherdisadvantagedgroupswithinthecommunity.Thisgoalhas

gradually shiftedtowardthatofinclusion ofthedisadvantaged(which still

DisabilityandEmployment 35

comprisesmentallyillpeopleinthemain)inthecommunity.Infact,B�typesocial

cooperativesarenowaimingatincreasingemploymentopportunitiesfordisadvan-

tagedworkersoutsideoftheorganizationthroughinnovativeandcreativeactivities

andon-the-jobtrainingtohelpthem leadafullanddignifiedlife.Thischangeof

goalhadalsoalteredthetypeofmarketcontractswhichB�typesocialcooperatives

embrace.Whenthegoalwasthatofintegrationofthedisadvantagedworkerwithin

thecooperative,open-endedcontractswerethenorm but,withtheircurrentgoal,

theyaremakingmuchmoreuseoftemporarycontracts.However,thecooperatives

canonlyenterintocontractsthatconform toaspecificframework,namelythe

・nationalcontractforsocialcooperatives・(NCSC),whichregulatesworkingrela-

tionsandconstitutesacommonbasefordebateswiththepublicadministration,a

crucialfeatureforsuchenterprises.Infact,attimes,publicadministrationscan

drawonpowerswhichgobeyondtheregulationsimposedbyLaw381.Forexample,

onequiteimportantarticleoftheLawestablishesthatpublicadministrationscan

assigncontractstoB�typesocialcooperatives,eventhoughthisisnormallynot

permittedundercontractlaw.Furthermore,theyareallowedtointroduceintothe

conditionsofcontractaso-called・socialclause・,whichimposesacontractualobliga-

tiontoemployaspecifiednumberofdisadvantagedpeople(Larattaetal.,2011).

ThispartlyexplainswhyLaw381,asmentionedinthepreviousparagraph,provided

forpublicinstitutionstobecomemembersofsocialcooperatives.Theideaisthat,if

publicinstitutionsholdbothmemberandstakeholderstatus,theywilltakepartin

theconstructionofthebudgetandassumegreaterresponsibilityforattainingthe

resultssetoutbytheorganization.Thishastheeffectofcreatingafullytransparent

anddemocraticallygovernedorganization.

B�typesocialcooperativeshavealsoevolvedintermsoforganizationalreper-

toire,whichClemens(1999:62)describesasmodelswhich・comprisebothtemplates

forarrangingrelationshipswithinanorganizationandscriptsforactionculturally

associatedwiththattypeoforganization;theycarryculturalexpectationsabout

whocanorganizeandforwhatpurposes・.Whenintegratedcooperativeswerefirst

created,manyofthem weredominatedbyaprofessional-psychiatricapproach.

Disadvantagedworkerswereseenintermsoftheirneedsandcondition,andthese

usuallyprovidedthebasisforprofessionalschemasandemploymentplans;the

disadvantagedwereessentiallydependentandhadlittleopportunitytocontribute

tothecooperative;theyweresimplyviewedasadifferenttypeofworkercompared

tootheremployeesandvolunteers.Therelationshipbetweentheprofessionaland

thedisadvantagedwaseffectivelycontractual,withtheformerbeingexpectedto

followethicalstandardsofprofessionalpractice,eventhoughthesewereoftencon-

strainedbyfundinglimitationsorotheraccountabilityissues.However,afterthe

enactmentofLaw381in1991,theirnewlyacquiredlegalstatusencouragedB�type

socialcooperativestoinitiateaquitedifferentapproach.Forexample,itbecame

expectedthatrelationshipswouldbeegalitarianandfoundedinpersonaldignity,

ratherthanhierarchical;empowering,ratherthandiminishingandfocusingon

workers・strengths,ratherthanontheirpathologyordiagnosis.Anyonecouldbea

member,co-owningthecooperative,participatinginthemanagementofitand

DisabilityandEmployment36

partakinginallitsdecision-makingprocesses.Recentresearchconductedamong

membersofoneB�typesocialcooperativefoundthateventhoughtheirmonthly

salarieswerelowerthanthosepaidtoemployeesofotherenterprises,theirlevelof

jobsatisfactionwasmuchhigher(GaleraandBorzaga,2009).Whatisclearfrom

thisstudyisthatoneofthereasonsforsuchasenseoffulfillmentwasthecollabo-

rativenatureoftheorganizationinthatthememberswithanentrepreneurialinter-

estandthoseconcernedwithday-to-dayactivitiesaresubstantiallythesamegroup.

Thiscreatesastress-freeworkenvironmentinwhicheveryonecandevelopcreative

solutionstoproblems,makedecisionsaffectingthewellbeingofothers,anddeal

withemotions.Finally,B�typesocialcooperativeshavebeenabletoevolveby

creatingaroundthemastrongsupportiveenvironmentthroughconsortiaandfund-

ingschemeswhichfocusontheirspecificrequirements.Manyofthefirstintegrated

cooperativeswereunabletosurvivethestrongcompetitionforfundingalongwith

thepressureofaccountabilityfrompublicadministrationsandfoundations.B�type

socialcooperativeshaveovercomethisobstaclebynetworkingamongthemselves,

beinginformallyinvolvedinprojects,andfinallyestablishingtheirownconsortia

whichactasumbrellaorganizationsforthem.These,forexample,provideservices

suchasthepreparationofjointtenders,fundraisingforbiggerprojects,andpayroll

administration.Fromtimetotime,municipalcontractsaregivendirectlytoconsor-

tiawhichthensub-contractthemtotheirsocialcooperativeaffiliatesandmonitor

theactivitiesoftheirmembersthroughauditprocesses.Thisalsofacilitatesabetter

distributionoffundsandfewerfundingpressures.Cooperativescanalsoborrow

frombanksatlowerratesofinterestwhenarrangementsarenegotiatedandloans

guaranteedbytheconsortia.Theseareusuallyestablishedatregionallevelbut

coordinatedbyafewnationalconsortiaworkingclosetocentralgovernment.This

systemofconsortiaisthenassociatedwithseveralgrantschemeswhichhavebeen

putinplacespecificallytosupportB�typesocialcooperatives.Oneexampleofthis

istheMarconiFund,whichconsistsinsocialcooperativesinvesting3% oftheir

annualincomeforthepurposeoffinancingnewsocialcooperatives.Fundingfor

socialcooperativesortheirconsortiaalsocomesfrom ・cooperativebanks・,which

differfromthenorminthatthemaintargetoftheirinvestmentsissocialcoopera-

tives(ForadetaileddescriptionofcooperativebanksinItaly,pleaseseeGoglioand

Alexopoulos,2012).Inadditiontoconsortiaandfundingschemes,socialcoopera-

tivesalsoenjoyagoodrelationshipwithlocalindustryasaresultoftheenactment

ofLaw68in1999.ThisLawregulatestheemploymentrightsofthedisabledand

requireslocalfirmstohiredisadvantagedpeopleortosub-contractcertainservices

toB�typesocialcooperativesinsteadtherebyfosteringnumerouslong-termpartner-

ships.

4.ACasestudy:IlTetto

IlTetto(pseudonym)isaB�typesocialcooperativelocatedinthenorthern

ItaliancityofTurinandispartofaregionalconsortium.Itoriginatedin1989

throughtheeffortsofparentsandfriendsofmentallydisabledpeopleasaninte-

DisabilityandEmployment 37

gratedcooperativewiththeobjectofcreatingjobopportunitiesforlocaldisabled

peopleandrananumberofday-timeemploymentcentersplusaresidentialarea.In

1992,IlTettoregisteredasaB�typesocialcooperativebecauseitrealizedthatLaw

381offeredanopportunitytodevelopand,inthesameyear,enteredacontractwith

thelocalhealthandcareunittoexpanditsscopetoassistothertypesofdisadvan-

tagedpeople.Nowitemploys96people,comparedwith9whenitstarted,andhas

aturnoverof�2.4million.Alltheworkersarealsomembers,including48mentally

disabledpeopleand20formerdrugaddictsandpeopleondayreleasefromprison.

IlTettocurrentlyprovideson-the-jobtrainingfordisadvantagedworkersand

employsthem inkeysectors:landscapegardening,cleaning,wastedisposaland

recycling.BeforejoiningIlTettopeopleneedtobeproperlyassessedtodetermine

whattaskstheycansafelyundertake.Thisprocessstartswithanevaluationofhow

compatibletheapplicant・sabilitiesarewiththeworkofthecooperativeandthen

developsintoapersonally-tailoredemploymenttrainingprogram.Asapartofthis

training,members・individualgoalsareidentifiedthroughone-to-oneinterviews

withotherworkers.Thesegoalsarethenbrokendownintoeasilymanageablesteps

andthetrainee・sprogressreviewedonaregularbasis.Thefinalgoalistocreate

careerpathsfordisadvantagedworkerstomovebeyondtheentryleveljobs.This

allowstheworkertogainalevelofself-respectandequalitywithothersinthe

workplaceandsoexperienceasenseofinclusioninthecommunity.Everyday

membersworkside-by-sidewithoutassistancefrom eitherprofessionalornon-

professionalworkers.Everyonehelpsandencourageseachotherandthishas

provedtobemoreeffectivethanreceivingsupportfrom・professionals・.Thecentral

taskofformermembersistoengagenewmembersinrealandmeaningfulworkand

tofacilitatepeersupportbetweenthem,whichistheglueofthesocialcooperative.

Itisalmostimpossiblewhenvisitingthiscooperativeorseeingmembersworking

outsidetodistinguishthedisadvantagedworkersfromtheothers.Indeed,asthey

allundertakeveryusefulandnecessaryactivitiesforthecity,evenlocalresidentsin

Turinareunlikelytorealizethatthepersonwhocleansthecitysquareeverymorn-

ing,forexample,isamentallydisabledpersonoraformerdrugaddict.

AsaB�typesocialcooperative,IlTettorecognizestheimportanceofcollabora-

tionwiththelocalpublicauthority.Turin・slocalauthorityhashadacloseworking

relationshipwithIlTetto,contractingouttothecooperativemorethan60% ofits

manualworktasks.Thispartnershipisalsokeptalivebythefactthatoneofthe

articlesofLaw381statesthatsocialcooperativescanonlycharge4% VAT,com-

paredtothe20% standardratechargedbyfor-profitenterprises.Thecooperative

couldalsonotsurvivewithoutthesupportofaregionalconsortium.IlTetto,infact,

hasbeenusingthelocalconsortium asaforum tofurtheritsinterestsandinthe

promotionofitsownbrandidentity.Theconsortiumimposesalimitonthenumber

ofemployeesandcontractsthatitsaffiliatesocialcooperatives,likeIlTetto,may

have.Themainreasonforthisistoensurethatallaffiliatesdevelopalongequal

lines,therebyavoidingthepossibilitythatonemightexpandtothedetrimentof

another.Till1999,IlTettohadonlyonefor-profitpartnerbut,followingtheenact-

mentofthenewlawonemploymentrightsfordisabledworkers,Law68/1999,the

DisabilityandEmployment38

numberroseto22which,inturn,contributedtothecooperative・sdramaticincrease

inturnover,andprovidedconsistentlypositivebalances.Asaresult,IlTettoisalso

abletomakeanuntaxedannualcontributiontotheMarconiFundwhichhelpsto

financetheestablishmentofnewB�typesocialcooperativesinotherpartsofthe

country.

OneactivityinparticularshowshowIlTetto,thelocalauthorityandanumber

ofprivatefirmsinTurinareformingakindofco-productionpartnershipwhichis

equallybeneficialtoallpartners,andthisistherecyclingofpaper.Thelocalauthor-

ityasksIlTettotocollectitswastepaperforrecyclingbecausethecooperativecan

offerthisserviceatareducedcostduetothelowerVATcharge;alocalfirmwork-

ingexclusivelyinpaperrecyclingasksIlTettotodeliverthepapertheyhavebeen

collectingeverydaybecauseitischeaperthancollectingitthemselves.Thesocial

cooperativebenefitsinthissituationfromtwocontracts― onepublicandonepri-

vate― andthethreesectorshavebeenworkinginsuccessfulpartnershipformany

years.Whatismore,therecyclingfirm onlyneedtoturntoIlTettoiftheyare

lookingforstaffandtheyhaveaselectionofready-trainedpeopletochoosefrom.

Thisworkswellforboth;therecyclerssavethecostoftraininganewemployee,and

thesocialcooperativecanmoveaworkerbeyondentrylevelandtakeonsomeone

else.Atthebeginningof2010,theprojectforanew,biggerandmorefunctional

locationforthecooperativewasstarted.Theprojectwasself-fundedatatotalof

�200,000withasmallpartofthecostbeingpaidbythelocalauthority.Otheractivi-

tiescontinuetoariseandthecooperativeiscurrentlyplanningtostartaninternal

trainingandexternalcommunicationprogram throughabi-monthlypublication

withacirculationofaround3,000andtosetupaninternationalcollaborationproject

withanArgentinianpartner.

5.Conclusion

Formorethantwentyyears,B�typesocialcooperativeshaverepresenteda

sustainablesocialbusinessmodelofworkingwithdisadvantagedworkers,including

thementallydisabled,andreunitingthemwiththecommunity.Thecooperatives

havecreatedthousandsofjobsandcareerpathsforpeopleforwhom movingbe-

yondentry-leveljobswouldhavebeensimplyunthinkableinpreviousdecades.

Throughcarefulconsiderationofsuitableandinnovativeeconomicactivitiesde-

signedtofittheworkers・abilities,thecooperativeshavebeenabletoaddressthe

stigmaassociatedwithmanydisadvantagedgroups.

However,beyondthissuccess,amodelofpublicserviceco-productionhas

emerged.Bybuildingoneachother・sassets,experiencesandexpertise,socialcoop-

eratives,publicadministrationandfor-profitenterpriseshaveshownthatlocalserv-

icescanbedeliveredmoreefficiently,withtheby-productthatdisadvantaged

workersarebeingemployed,regainingself-respectandfeelingpartofthecommu-

nityagain.Thisco-productionmodelissupportedbythreefactors:a)effectiveregu-

lationbylawswhichsustainco-producedservicesanddisadvantagedworkersof

socialcooperatives;b)asupportsystemofinfrastructuressuchasconsortia,coopera-

DisabilityandEmployment 39

tivebanksandfundschemeswhich:promotetheactivitiesofsocialcooperatives;

monitortheiractivitiesbyplacingaccountabilitydemandsonthem;andprevent

overexpansion;c)atotallydemocraticoperationalgovernancewheretransparency

amongstakeholdersandpeer-supportbetweenmembersgivecohesiontoitseffec-

tiveperformance.

ItalianLaw381/1991onsocialcooperativeswasthefirstpieceoflegislaturein

Europetorecognizetheimportanceofsocialbusinesses.Inthelast10yearsthere

hasbeenwidespreadrecognitionofthismodelelsewhereinEuropewhichhas

promptedtheintroductionofsimilarregulations,anexamplebeingthoseoftheUK

officeofRegulatorofCommunityInterestCompanies,broughtinundertheCompanies

Actof2004.Underlyingthisrecognitionisadeepawarenessbyadministrationsthat

thissocialbusinessmodelnotonlyhelpstoprovidelocalservicesinamorecost-

effectiveway― someNobelPrizewinnersforEconomicshavepredictedthatthe

richestItalianmunicipalitieswouldenteraperiodofdefaultifsocialcooperatives

ceaseddeliveringtheirservices― butalsoprovidesthesolutiontothequestionof

howtoincludedisadvantagedgroupsofpeople,suchasthementallydisabled,into

thecommunitysothattheybecomeproductivemembers.Thecurrentpolicyin

manycountriesistoprovideexpensivetherapyforpeoplewithmentalhealthchal-

lenges,whilethesocialcooperativemodelembedsrehabilitationintothephilosophy

ofsufferersactuallysupportingoneanotheronthepathtorecoverythroughwork

integration.Certainly,thisisnottheonlymodelworkingtowardsuchanoutcome,

butitissurelytheonewiththelongesthistoryandsocialandeconomicimpact.

Socialcooperativeshavebecomeanimportantandthrivingsectorofonenational

economyandwouldbeworthintroducingintootherpartsoftheworld.

1 ICSI2007(IndaginesulleCooperativeSocialiItaliane)investigatedbothA�andB�type

cooperatives,andusedacomplexprocessofsamplingdesignedtorepresentthetotalby

typology,region(North-East,North-West,Central,andSouthItaly),andsize(fewer

than15,15�50,andmorethan50employees).Someoftheresultsoftheinvestigation

werepresentedinBorzagaandDepedri(2007)andLarattaetal.,(2010a).

Basaglia,F.(1964)Ladistruzionedell・ospedalepsichiatricocomeluogodiistituzionali-

zzazione[Thedestructionofthementalhospitalasaplaceofinstitutionalization].

Retrieved 04/03/12from http://www.triestesalutementale.it/letteratura/testi/35distr.

htm

Borzaga,C.andDepedri,S.(2007).Quandolerisorseumanefannoladifferenza.Unnuovo

modellodirelazioniindustrialiperl・impresasociale[Whenhumanresourcesmakea

difference.Anewmodelofindustrialrelationsforsocialenterprises].ImpresaSociale,

76(3):82�114.

Clemens,E.(1999).Organizationalrepertoiresandinstitutionalchange.InSkocpol,T.and

Fiorina,M.(Eds.).CivilEngagementinAmericanDemocracy.DC:BrookingsInstitutions

Press.

DisabilityandEmployment40

Note

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Goglio,S.andAlexopoulos,Y.(Eds.)(2012).FinancialCo-operativesandLocalDevelopment.

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prisesinItaly.InternationalPublicEconomyStudies,21:289�299.

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tion.

DisabilityandEmployment 41

DisabilityandEmployment42

1.Introduction

Russiaistheworld-wideknownproducerandexporterofoilandgas.The

country・soilandgassectorsemploylessthan3percentofitsworkingpopulation,3

buttheycontributeover50percentofRussia・sbudgetaryrevenue,makeupover30

percentofGDP,accountformorethan40percentofinvestmentand75percentof

merchandiseexports.4 Yet,Russiaisnotoriousforitscontinuedfailuretoputin

placeadequatenaturalresourcegovernance.TheRevenueWatchInstitutegrants

Russiaascoreof56(outof100)andranksit22nd(outof58countries)intheevalua-

tionofResourceGovernanceIndex(RGI).5 Accordingtothe2013RGI,Russia・s

highestevaluationforSafeguardsandQualityControlswasstillthe24thrank(outof

58)withscore62(outof100)withparticularlyproblematicareasbeingcheckson

licensingprocessandmanagementofnaturalresourcefunds.Thelowestrank

(26th/58)andscore(39/100)wasonEnablingEnvironmentoverRussia・spoor

43

Abstract

ThearticleexaminessomeoftheinstitutionalaspectsofRussia・scontemporary

gaspolicytowardsNortheastAsia(NEA).Backinthe1990s,developmentofnatural

gasdepositsintheRussianFarEastwasmadepossibleundertheschemeofproduc-

tionsharingagreements.CompletionofLNGplantinSakhalinin2009helpedRussia

entertheNEAs・gasmarkets.In2013,Russiahaseffectivelyestablishedatwo-pattern

policyforgasexport,wherebytheEU-orientedpipelinegasexportremainsmono-

polisedbyGazprom,whilethePacificRim-orientedLNGexport(currentlyoperated

byaconsortium ofinternationalcompaniesunderGazprom・scontrol)ispartially

liberalised.RussiangaspolicytowardsNEAisexploredthroughtheprismofdomes-

tic(bothinnationalandregionalscopes)andexternalfactors.Specificattentionis

paidtoshowhowtheregion-specificpatternofenergypolicyisutilisedintheRus-

siangovernmentcommunicationoftherationaleandthegoalsforitsAsia-oriented

gaspolicy.

Keywords:gaspolicy,Russia,EasternSiberiaandFarEast(ESFE1),NortheastAsia

(NEA2)

InstitutionalDimensions

inRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia:Someanalyticalobservations

ElenaShadrina

AssociateProfessor

GraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudies

MeijiUniversity

performanceonmeasurementsofcorruptioncontrol,democraticaccountabilityand

theruleoflaw.Russiareceivedascoreof60(andthe20thrank)forReportingPrac-

tices,whichreflectsalackofcontracttransparencyandincompletegovernment

reportingonmostaspectsoftheextractivesector.TheMinistryofFinance,the

MinistryofNaturalResourcesandEcology,theFederalSubsoilResourcesManage-

mentAgency,theCentralBankandtheFederalStatisticalAgencyarenamedfor

theirunacceptablypoorlyorganizedandincompleteannualreportsprovidinginsuf-

ficientinformationabouttheextractiveactivities,exportprices,taxation,etc.

Russia・sInstitutionalandLegalSettingwasfoundineffectiveresultinginarankof38

andscoreof57.Legalframeworksareevaluatedasbeingoftenambiguous,out-

dated,andmarredbymultipleamendments,whichleavesroomforarbitrarydeci-

sion-makinginthelicensingprocessinfavourofstate-ownedcompanies(SOCs).

Environmentalimpactassessmentsaresaidtobeeasilypoliticizedandoftenwith-

heldfromthepublic.Russia・slegislativeprovisionsforstatesecretsarefoundtobe

over-appliedtoinformationrelatedtotheoilandgasindustries.

Forafairlylongtime,Russianenergywasheavily(andratherunjustly)politi-

cized.Russia・sexternalenergytieswerestudiedfornootherreasonbuttofinda

sourceofirreconcilableconflictandanillustrationofhowpowerpoliticsdecidesthe

outcomeofRussia・senergyrelations(Balmaceda2008;Goldman2008;Klare2008;

Rangsimaporn2009;Wenger,Orttung,andPerovic2009;PascualandElkind2010;

Baev2010;Chowetal.2010).Afreshstreamofliteratureswhichcanbegenerally

classifiedwiththeareaofpoliticaleconomy(foritsmajorfeaturetoemphasise

cooperativenatureofenergyandinvolvedwithitinterplayofeconomicsandpoli-

tics)hasbeengrowingrecentlycontributedbystudiesbyFinonandLocatelli

(2007),Bayulgen(2010),Bhattacharya(2011),etc.Oneofthemostvividlythriving

areasofcontemporaryenergystudiesdevelopsuponthebackdropofconceptsof

governancestudies:FloriniandSovacool2009;GoldthauandWitte2009;Goldthau

2011;BoussenaandLocatelli2013,etc.Adjacenttothefamilyofgovernancestudies,

butyetdeservingaspecialplaceintheirownright,isenergyresearchemploying

theconceptsofinstitutionalism,wheretheideasandnormsplaycentralroleinthe

processofenergy policy paradigm change(Helm 2005;Andrews-Speed 2010;

Kuzemko2011,2014).Ampleresearchonlimitedaccessorder,vestedinterests,etc.

alsoapproachenergypolicyissuesthroughtheprism ofinstitutionalism(Opdahl

2013,Zudin2013).Lately,NewInstitutionalEconomics(NIE6)isgainingprominence

asacredibleanalyticalframework.Makholm(2012),forinstance,appliesthelenses

ofNIEtopipelinestudiesseekingtoexplainthemarkets,marketbehavior,regula-

tionandcompetitiveentry.LuongandWeinthal(2010)conductcomparativestudy

onthepost-Sovietpracticesofownershipstructuresandinstitutionsinmineral

resourcemanagement.

WhatwastypicallyoverlookedintheliteraturesonRussianenergyistheun-

derstandingthatRussia・senergypolicyisnotmonolith.Shadrina(2010ab)hasbeen

attemptingtobridgethisgap.ArguingthatRussia・senergypolicydifferentiates

acrossspace,theauthoranalysedEuropean,CentralEurasianandNortheastAsian

patternsinRussia・senergypolicy.HavingsetfocusonRussia・sactivatedenergy

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia44

tieswithAsia,Shadrina(2013ab)hasbeenapplyinganalyticalframeworkofstate

capitalismtostudyRussia・sregion-specific(asregardstheRussianFarEast)policy.

Thenotionof・region・isindeedanimportantunitintheanalysisofRussianenergy

policy.Frompoliticalscienceperspective,Dusseault(2010)presentedperhapsone

ofthemostcomprehensivestudiesintothe・center-periphery・problem inRussia・s

energypolicy.

ThisarticleincorporatestheNIE・sconcepts.Ithoweveromitstheoreticaldis-

coursesforthereasonofspace.Essentialexplanationsaresubstitutedbyreferences

andnotestotherelevantsources.Thekeyelementsemployedinthisworkcanbe

briefedasfollows.Institutions,7asdefinedbyNorth(1990),havethreedimensions:

formalrules,informalrulesandtheeffectivenessoftheirenforcement.8 Ifoneofthe

threehasproblems,theentiresystem failstoperform efficiently.Although,as

Northnotes,themainroleofinstitutions・...istoreduceuncertaintybyestablishing

astable(butnotnecessarilyefficient)structuretohumaninteraction・(1990:5),

institutionsdefineefficiencyoftheeconomy・...bytheireffectonthecostsofex-

changeandproduction.Togetherwiththetechnologyemployed,theydetermine

thetransactionandtransformation(production)costs・(1990:6).Inefficientinstitu-

tionsarereasonablyattemptedtobeimprovedoraltogetherchanged.Regardlessof

thescaleofsuchatransformation,theprocessofinstitutionalchangeisincremental

(North,1990:6).Distinguishingbetweenformal(publicrules)andinformal(private

rules9)institutionshelpsexplaindifferentialsindepth,scopeanddynamicsofinsti-

tutionaltransformations.Indeed,evenifformalinstitutionsundergodramatical-

terationovernight(say,juridicalsystemchanges),informalinstitutions,whichare

morestaticintheirnature,tendtomodifygraduallytherebyaffectingtheprogress

ofinstitutionaltransformation.Averycomplexprocessofeconomicchangestirred

bythetransformationofinstitutionsNorth(2005)schematicallydepictsasacycle

whereperceivedreality(informs)→ beliefs(whichshape)→ institutions(which

compose)→ policies(whichbringaboutsomechangesandresultin)→ altered

perceivedreality(whichisreflectedin)→ alteredbeliefsandonandon.

ThearticlescrutinizesRussia・scontemporary(throughoutthe2000s)gaspolicy

towardsNEA.AstheRussiangovernmentincreasinglyfrequentlyreiteratesthe

taskfortheRussianeasternterritoriesdevelopment,itatthesametimelinksthe

successindoingsowithaspecificrolethattheFarEastshouldplayinRussia・s

Asia-orientedenergypolicy.ThestudydiscernstherationaleforRussia・senergy

policychangeandRussia・sgasexportpolicygoalsandobjectivesinNEAupona

comprehensiveapproach,whichembracesnational,regionalandexternalperspec-

tives.Theworkseekstoanswerthefollowingprincipalquestions:1)Whatis/are

therationale(s)fortheAsianVectorinRussianenergypolicy?(Didit/theychange

overtime?Ifso,why?);2)Whatarethegoals/objectivesofRussianenergypolicy

inAsia?(Didtheyevolveovertime?Again,ifso,why?);and3)WhatRussiacan

potentiallygainfromthiseastwardshiftinitsenergypolicy?

Whilethesubsequentsectionspresentmoredetailedanalysis,itcanbebriefed

herethatrationalefortheeastwardshiftinRussia・senergypolicyoriginatesinthe

Russiangovernment・sattemptstomoderatenegativeexternalities10ofthecountry・s

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 45

tooprofounddependencyontheEuropeangasmarkets.Thelatterbearssuchhaz-

ardsasvulnerabilityofpublicbudgetoverthevolatilityofexportrevenuesfromthe

dominantexternalmarket.Ofnolessimportance,owingtothekeyrolethatthe

energyplaysinRussianeconomy,thesector・sconcentrationinRussia・swestbe-

reavesthecountry・sscarcelypopulatedandunderdevelopedeasternterritoriesof

economicdynamism.ItisagainsttheseconcernsthatRussiaproclaimedenergy

exportexpansiontoAsiain2003.Inadditiontomarketfailures,policyorgovernment

failures,11suchasissueswithensuringpropertyrights,unintendedsideeffectsin-

volvedwithsuchenergypolicymeasuresastenders,licensing,subsidiesandtaxa-

tion,etc.,spectrum ofprincipal-agentproblems,issuesassociatedwithregulatory

risk(interestgroups,tent-seeking,lobbying,corruption,etc.)andregulatorycapture

(suchasliberalisation,privatisationandregulation),etc.canbeequallynamedas

factorsexplainingRussia・s(under)performanceinenergygovernance.

Thearticleconcernssomeoftheinstitutionalaspectsintherealm ofRussia・s

gaspolicyvis-�a-visNEA.Insodoing,thestudydemonstratesthatRussiahassuc-

ceededinenteringtheNEAcountriesgasmarkets,butRussia・sprospectsinNEAare

challengedbyarangeofdomesticandexternalfactors.Developingtheseargu-

ments,thearticleshowsthatRussia・sshifteastwardisapragmatictwo-goalpursu-

ingchoice.Thelatterexemplifiesareactivepolicycourse,because:first,through

diversificationawayfrom theEU marketswithincreasinglyincompatiblewith

Russia・sownenergygovernanceinstitutions,Russiaattemptstosecuregasexport

revenues;andsecond,gasexportstotheNEAmarketsareperceivedasoneofthe

mostexpedientmeanstorevivethevastandresourcerichbutshrinkingeconomi-

callyFarEast.Itisarguedthatifconcernedaboutthelong-termprospectsinthe

NEAgasmarkets,Russianeedstoemploymorecomprehensivedomesticandfor-

eigngaspolicy.

2.MaterialsandMethods

Agreatvarietyofaccountshasbeenemployedtodevelopthiswork.Materials

ongaspolicyandrelevantstatisticshavebeenretrievedfromtheofficialweb-sites

ofrespectivegovernmentinstitutionsinchargeofenergypolicymakingandcollect-

inganddisseminatingstatisticsinRussiaandthreeothercountriesunderstudy

(China,JapanandKorea).PrincipalprogrammedocumentsintheareaofRussia・s

energypolicy12wereexamineduponthemethodofcontentanalysis.

TheIEA,EIAandBPdatahelpedevaluatingthedynamicsandtrendsingas

supply-demandandtradeinNEA.Inordertokeepmeasuresrelatedtoquantities

andvaluesofgasuniform,thispaperadherestotheconventionsemployedbyBP

StatisticalReviewofWorldEnergy(BPAnnual).13 Also,primarydataaboutthe

fourcountries・majornationaloilcompanies(NOCs)andstate-ownedcompanies

(SOCs)werecollectedfrom theirrespectivewebpages,suchasGazprom,Rosneft

andTransneftinRussia,JOGMECinJapan,KogasinKorea,CNPC,Sinopecand

CNOOCinChina.

Secondarydatahavebeenobtainedfrom thepublishedresearchbythethink

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia46

tanksconductingenergystudies(suchastheInstituteofEnergyStrategyand

SkolkovoEnergyCentreinRussia,InstituteofEnergyEconomicsinJapan(IEEJ),

EnergyResearchInstituteinChina(ERI),KoreaEnergyEconomicsInstitute

(KEEI)inKorea,etc.),butalsothroughdailyreadingofdiversesourcesofindustry

newsavailableinthreelanguages(Russian,EnglishandJapanese).

SincethearticlediscernsregionasaunitforRussia・senergypolicyanalysis,

relevantmaterialsanddatawerecollectedfromtheweb-sitesoftheMinistryforthe

DevelopmentoftheRussianFarEastandthoseofEastSiberianandFarEastern

localgovernments.PublicationsoftheInstituteofOilandGasGeologicalExplora-

tionofSiberianBranchofRussianAcademyofSciences(RAS)inNovosibirskand

theEconomicResearchInstituteFarEasternBranchofRASinKhabarovskwereof

helpingraspingtheup-to-datesituationonthestudiedquestions.

Russia・senergypolicytowardsNEAisanalysedasbeingshapedbythedomes-

ticfactorsofnationalandregionalscope,aswellasexternaldeterminants(Figure

1).

Finally,abroadnetworkofprofessionalcontactswithinbothacademiaandoil

andgasindustriesrealmsinRussia,AsiaandEurope,aswellaspersonalcommuni-

cationswiththeindustrypractitioners,businessesandexpertsatagreatnumberof

conferencesandevents,ofwhichthe2013OilandGasConferenceinSakhalinwas

certainlyoneofthemostremarkableexperienceoftheauthor,theseall,inoneway

oranother,contributedtothiswork.

3.TheEastwardShift

3.1.WhyShift?

AccordingtoE.Onestimatesfortheyear2013,Russiangasoccupies29.5percent

intheEUimportsand23percentintheEUgasconsumption.HistoryofRussia�EU

energyrelationsknowsexamplesbothofcooperationandconflicts.Thelatterhave

becomeespeciallyfrequentinthepastseveralyears,involvingabroadgamutof

actorsandresultinginstate-state,state-businessandbusiness-businessconflicts.

TheRussianactorsarefrequentlyaccusedofnotobeyingtheEUrulesandattimes

evenpenalizedforviolatingthem.Themosttellingexampleofthiskindisthe

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 47

Figure1 RegionalEnergyPolicyinRussia・sEnergyPolicy

Source:composedbyauthor.

EuropeanCommission(EC)antitrustinvestigationagainstGazprom14whichmay

resultinapenaltyofsome$15b.WhileGazpromhasbeendemonstratingitswillto

settlesomeoftheissues,thecompanycouldnotagreetotheECrequirementsto

reviseGazprom・spricingpolicybylinkinggaspricestothespotmarket.15

WhiledealingwiththeEUmemberstates,RussiaisexposedtotheEUsuprana-

tionalregulatoryprovisions.Russia�EUgasdiscoursecanbeunderstoodthrough

thedevelopmentsintwomaindimensions:1)wideningdiscrepancybetweentheEU

andRussia・senergygovernanceinstitutions;and2)majorstructuralshiftsinthe

globalisinggasmarket.Kuzemko(2014)providesanexcellentanalysisoftheidea-

tionaldiscrepancies(liberalmarketintheEU vshands-onapproachinRussia)

presentingtheessenceofRussia― EUconflictintherealm ofenergyrelations.

Conceptsofinstitutionalismcanalsobeemployedtoexplainthedivergencesoccur-

ringbecauseofstructuraltransformations.Sketchedintheopeningpartofthis

articlelogicalframework(perceivedrealities-beliefs-institutions-policies,etc.)al-

lowstoseethecoreofRussia�EUdifferences.

Whilethepartnerspursueaseeminglyidenticalultimategoal/objectiveof

energysecurity,theyhavedifferentinterpretationofsuchsimplybecauseonesideis

aproducerandanexporter,whileanotherisaconsumerandanimporter.Itisonly

naturalthatalargeconsumerofimportedenergyresourcesisconcernedaboutsecu-

rityofsupply,whilealargeproducer,whosesocio-economicandpoliticalstabilityis

endangeredbyitsprofounddependencyonenergyexportrevenues,isworriedover

securityofdemand.Inlargelyabstractbutyetquiteadequateform,energysecurity

ofasupplieraswellasaconsumercanbeperceivedthroughthecategoriesofprice,

volumeandmarketstructure.Table1presentsthecaseofgassecurityasperceived

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia48

Table1 PerceptionofGasSecurity:Russiavs.EU

Russia:SecurityofDemand* EU:SecurityofSupply

gasexportsrevenuemaximization� statecon-

trolovernationalgassector&outwardexpan-

sion(accesstoEU・smid-&downstream)

efficiency ofgasmarket� liberalisation of

intra-EU gasmarket& accesstoRussia・sgas

valuechain

falling/fluctuatingprice unfair/fluctuatingprice

externalcompetition(downwardpressureon

exportprice;shifttowardslessattractivepric-

ing;etc.);

shrinkingvolumedemanded

theEU・seconomicsituation;climatepolicy;in-

creasingG2Gcompetition;etc.;

deterioratingaccesstothemarket

theEU・stermsofownershipunbundling,the

・thirdcountryclause・,etc.;

pricediscrimination;rigidpricing(TOPprovi-

sioninGazprom・scontracts);etc.;

unguaranteedvolume

Russia・sinsufficientinvestmentingasdevelop-

ment;untowardforeigninvestmentregulation;

gasexportdiversification;etc.;

supplier・smarketpower

traditionalperspectives(transit,・gasOPEC・,

etc.)andnewdimensions(Russia・seastwardex-

pansion,G2Gcompetition);etc.

Source:composedbyauthor.

Note:*incorporatesideasoftheDraftofRussia・sDoctrineofEnergySecurity(ConceptualTheses);canbe

accessedat�www.labenin.z4.ru/Docs/en_bezop_project.doc�.

policyprimeobjective

perceivedthreats

byRussiaandtheEU.NationalinstitutionsforenergygovernanceinRussiaandthe

EUareestablishedinordertoaddresstheirrespectiveconcernsintherealmofen-

ergysecurity.

RussiaandtheEUarelockedintoadeepsymmetricaldependency,buttheirgas

relationsarenotsmooth.Oneoftheprincipalreasonshereisthemultidirectional/

asymmetricalcharacteroftheinstitutionalchangesthatareunfoldinginRussiaand

theEU.WhileRussiahasbeendepartingawayfrominitiallydesignedplanforthe

deregulationofthedomesticgassectortowardsthenormsofstatecapitalism,the

EUhasbeenmethodicallyproceedingtheharmonizationofthememberstatesen-

ergypoliciesprogressingtowardsfurtherliberalizationoftheEUcommonenergy

market(Box1).Consequently,thepartnersfindthemselvesincreasinglyuncom-

fortablewithinonceappropriatesetting.Nodoubt,theeffortstoestablishtheap-

propriateinstitutionsforfosteringthebilateralcooperationarecontinued.Seeking

toembracenewdimensions,RussiaandtheEUhaveestablishedanumberofnew

frameworks,suchasthePartnershipforModernization,theRoadmapEU�Russia

EnergyCooperation2050,etc.)(Box2).Atthesametime,RussiaandtheEUare

simultaneouslyoptingforthediversificationoftheirgastiesasoneofthekeypolicy

choicesensuringtheattainmentoftheirrespectivegoalsintherealmofgassecurity.

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 49

Box1 PrincipalDevelopmentstowardsEuropeanSingleGasMarket

Year Document Significance

1991 GasTransitDirective

(1991/296/EEC)

Memberstatesagreedonthird-partyaccess(TPA)totrans-

missionpipelines

1998 FirstEUGasDirective

(1998/30/EC)

Memberstateschoosebetweenregulatedandnegotiated

TPAtotransmission

2003 SecondEUGas

Directive(2003/55/EC)

Eliminationofnotionoftransitandintroductionofaniden-

ticaltreatmenttoallgasflowsinsidetheEU,irrespectiveof

whethertheywerecross-border;mandatedregulatedTPAto

alltransmissiononthebasisoftariffs(ormethodologies)

approvedbynationalregulatoryauthorities(NRAs)

2004 CouncilDirective

(2004/67/EC)

Concernsmeasurestosafeguardsecurityofgassupply

2005 Regulation(1775/2005)Conditionsforaccesstothenaturalgastransmissionnet-

works

2009 ThirdEnergyPackage

(2009/73/EC)

Unbundlingoftransmissionassetsintheformofeitherown-

ershipunbundling(OU),orindependentsystem operator

(ISO),orindependenttransmissionoperator(ITO);certifica-

tionoftransmissionsystem operators(TSO)meetingthe

unbundlingrequirements;entry-exit(EE)organisationof

accesstotransmissionsystem networks;developmentof

pan-EuropeanNetworkCodes(NCs)oncross-borderissues

Source:composedbasedon�http://faolex.fao.org�andYafimava,K.,2013.TheThirdEUPackageforGas

andtheGasTargetModel:majorcontentiousissuesinsideandoutsidetheEU.TheOxfordInsti-

tuteforEnergyStudies.NG75,April.

3.2.Rationale:WhyNortheastAsia?

Geopolitically,NEAisoneofthemostcomplexregions.Boggeddowninterrito-

rialdisputes,dividedbynumerousunresolvedhistoricalissuesandpreoccupied

withthetraditionalsecurityconcernsthatlingerovertheregion,theNEAstatesare

showingfewsignsofjointactionontheenergyfront.Intheabsenceofacommon

setofrules,havingalmostnoenergyresourcesoftheirownandbeingtherefore

criticallydependentonenergyimports,theNEAstateshaveinsteadresortedto

implementingavarietyofpolicies.Theseconsistofmeasuresofexternalpolicy,

suchasresourcediplomacy,anddomesticstrategies,suchasrenewableenergy,

energyconservationandthelike,withtheimperativegoalbeingyetagaintoensure

nationalenergysecurity.

Nottodisregardthespecificsofthenationalapproachesinplace,energypolicies

ofNEAscanbebroadlydescribedbyso-called・3E・concept(termoriginallycoined

byJapan),whichunderpinscommonforlargeenergyconsumersandimporters

concernsabouttheaffordabilityofenergy(price,economicsofenergy),themaximi-

zationofefficiencyofenergyresourceutilizationandtheminimizationoftheenvi-

ronmentalfootprint.

Inasense,Russia・sroletowardstheNEAsandtheNEAs・roletowardsRussia

arereminiscentofthoseintheRussia�EUcontext;itisthesame・supplier-consum-

er・mode,butthereisnodiscernibletensioninRussia・senergytieswiththeNEAs.

Itisworthasking:IsthereakindofinstitutionalconsistencyobservedinRussia�

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia50

・...Russia・sreorientationtowardthePacificOceanandthedynamicdevelopmentinalloureasternterritories

willnotonlyopenupneweconomicopportunitiesandnewhorizons,butalsoprovideadditionalinstrumentsforanactiveforeignpolicy.・16

Box2 Russia― EUEnergyDialogue

Source:composedbyauthor.

NEA�3energyrelations?Overall,itappearstobeaccurateenoughtolikentheen-

ergypoliciesofthestatesconcernedfortheirpursuitofapragmaticcourse(Table

2).It,however,becomesclearataveryfirstglancethatthisisthecaseofdifferent

typesofpragmatism.

Economicandenvironmentalconsiderationsareamongthemostprincipalfac-

torsdefiningcontemporaryenergypolicyofastate.InNEAcontext,twoshifts

deservespecialattention.ForJapan,energypricehasbecomebyfarmoredecisive

aspectofpolicymaking,whileenvironmentaldimensionisturningintoaserious

denominatorofChina・senergypolicy.

ToRussia,NEA・sgrowinggasdemandandexpandinginNEAsgasdeficit

emergesasablessing.Since2009theregionbecametheprimaryimporterof

Russia・sLNG(Table3).

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 51

Table2 NEA・sEnergyPolicies:CompatibilityinPragmatism

Russia― pragmatism ofalargepro-

ducer& export-dependenteconomy;pro-

ductionofincreasingvolumesandexport

worldwideatbestpossibleprice;depletion

intraditionalproducingprovinces,worse

geology&economicsofgreenfiields,inten-

sifyingexternalcompetitionfrom uncon-

ventionals,etc.narrowdownpolicychoi-

ces

China― pragmatism ofalargeconsumer&

netimporterandadevelopmentalstate(secure

supply⇒ sustainableeconomicdevelopment);

enhanced development of indigenous gas

(unconventionals:CBM,shale&SNG);transi-

tiontoalowcarboneconomy,by2020non-fuels

inprimaryenergyconsumption15%;renew-

ables& nuclear(18NPPsoperating,1.7% of

electricity;~30reactorsofcapacity 34GW

underconstruction;>50reactorsintheplan-

ningstage;totalcapacityby2015~40GW)

Korea― pragmatismofa100% oil&gas-

import-dependenteconomycompetingfor

supply with two neighbours;geopoliti-

callyproblematiclocation;paradigm2030―

renewables(4.3% by2015;11% by2030)&

nuclear(currently12NPPs,23reactors(6

offline),about30% ofelectricity→ BUT

Fukushima&domesticissuespressurefor

revisionoftheinitialplanfor+10reactors

and,41% ofelectricityby2030to29% of

electricityby203517)

Japan― pragmatism ofamature&stagnat-

ing~100% oil& gas-import-dependentecon-

omyforcedtooverhaulenergypolicyafterthe

2011nucleardisaster;now allremaining50(4

destroyedbythe2011disaster)reactorsare

offline,decisionontherestartsisawaited;by

2030:nuclear-energyfree(?),renewables20%;

macroeconomicsaccentuatescost-efficientsolu-

tions;climate change policy toughens the

choices

Source:composedbyauthor.

Note:NPPstandsfornuclearpowerplant.

Table3 NEA�3SharesinRussia・sLNGExports,%

Country 2009 2010 2011 2012

China 3.78 3.81 2.29 3.54

Japan 55.82 61.42 67.82 76.45

Korea 20.42 29.10 26.96 19.88

NEAs・total 80.02 94.33 97.07 99.87

Source:calculatedbyauthorbasedonBPdata.

WhatmakestheregionparticularlyattractivetoRussiaisthattheNEArepre-

sentsoneofthemostlucrativemarketsforitstraditionallyhigherthaninanyother

marketpriceandsignificantimportvolumes.Indeed,theworld・slargest(Japanand

Korea)andthefastestgrowing(China)gasmarketsareinNEA(Table4).Inaddi-

tion,NEAisnotconsolidatedbyanyintraregionalinstitutions.

3.3.Russia・sEasternGasPolicy

Fromtheveryoutset,thedevelopmentofgasreservesinRussia・seasthasbeen

attemptedinaspecificform.TheinceptionoftheSakhalinprojectshastakenplace

intheearly1990samidstaprofounddevastationoftheRussianeconomy.Seeking

thewaystoincreasesomuchneededforthepublicbudgetexportrevenuesandkeep

afloatRussia・svasteasternlands,thegovernmentrealisedthatdevelopmentof

energysectormaybethat(nearlyonlyoneavailable)expedientwaytoaddress

bothchallenges.However,thegovernmentalsorealisedthatthedevelopmentofthe

FarEasterngreenfieldswouldbeimpossiblewithoutforeigncapitalandtheexper-

tise.Undersuchcircumstances,theRussiangovernmentendorsedtwoproduction

sharingagreements(PSA):theSakhalinIIin1994andtheSakhalinIin199618,which

lateronwereseverelycriticisedasnotprotectingwellenoughRussia・sown(most

ofallcommercial)interests.Up-to-date,theLNGplantinPrigorodnoe,whichcom-

mencedLNGexportsin2009undertheSakhalinIIproject,remainsRussia・sonlygas

linkwiththeNEAmarkets.NotonlydidtheLNGexportstoNEAprovetobe

commerciallyattractivetoRussia,theyalsorevealedthebenefitsofgas-to-gas(LNG

vs.pipeline)andregion-to-region(NEAvs.theEU)diversification.Inbrief,the

AsianVectorprovedtobechosencorrectly.

Throughoutthepost-Sovietperiod,Russiangassectorhasundergonecertain

transformations,buttheirscalewassomewhatsmallerthanintheoilindustry.

GazpromisasadirectsuccessortotheformerMinistryofGasIndustryoftheSoviet

Union.AlthoughGazprom waspartiallyprivatizedandreorganizedintoaJoint

StockCompany(JSC)in1993,statecontroloverGazpromwasre-establishedinthe

2000sandstatecurrentlyowns50.002percentofthecompany・sshares(Shadrinaand

Bradshaw2013).Themajorreasonforaverycautiousapproachtowardsthederegu-

lationofthegasindustryisthatgasplaysanimportantroleinthedomesticenergy

mix,thereforegaspolicyunavoidablyinfluencesotherkeypoliciesaffectingthe

socialandeconomicsituationinRussia.

Perhaps,thetimewhenthePSAswereconcludedwastheperiodofthemost

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia52

Table4 NEAs・LNGImportsGrowthRates,%,y/o/y

Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

China ― ― ― (*) 287 14.73 72.07 67.54 29.84 21.90

Japan 6.92 1.05 -0.82 7.26 8.50 3.73 -6.76 8.82 14.41 12.67

Korea 9.02 13.95 1.87 12.12 0.73 6.29 -6.07 29.45 10.94 2.68

Source:calculatedbyauthorbasedonBPdata.

liberalpolicyinRussia・sSovietandpost-Soviethistoryofgas.Followingthe2006

Gazprom・sentrytoSakhalinII19 andgasexportstransferredunderGazprom・s

rein20,RussiangassectorwasshutuptightlyfortheIOCs,unlesstheywerereadyto

acceptsomeinsignificantroleinaprojectledbytheRussianSOCs.Thus,Russia・s

gaspolicytransformedfrom beingrelativelyliberal(atleastwelcomingforeign

investment)intowhatiscommonlyevaluatedasrigidheavilycontrolledbythe

governmentsystemof・manual・(hands-on)resourcemanagement.

Russia・scontemporarygaspolicytowardsNEAisenforcedbytwosetsofpoli-

cies. Onecouldbenamedregion-specific(asregardstheESFE)pattern of

Russia・sgaspolicyenactedthroughanumberofincentivestoactivatethedevelop-

mentofonshoreandoffshoregasprojectsintheeasternpartofRussia.Another

couldbereferredtoassector-specifictwo-pattern(asregardsLNGandpipelinegas)

policy.ThelatterhaseventuallymaterialisedDecember1,201321asaresultofheated

debatesattheinstitutionsinchargeofpolicymakingandintensifiedrivalryamong

Gazpromandotherdomesticgasproducers(Novatek,Rosneft,etc.)strivingtoseize

achanceforabigbusiness.

3.3.1.GoalsandObjectivesofRussia・sEasternGasPolicy

ThethesisabouttheimportanceoftheFarEastforRussia・spolitical/geopoliti-

cal/economicwell-beinghasalwaysbeenoneofthemostexploited・politically

correct・statementswhichtheRussiangovernmentusedtosendaformalsignalof

concerntoRussia・svasteasternterritoriesabouttheirfate.23 Thesignalwashardly

reachingoutto4percentofRussianpopulationscatteredacrossthelandsoccupying

3/5ofRussia・sterritory.Fromtheveryoutsetofhisthirdpresidentialterm,Putin

madetheESFEtolooklikeitsdevelopmentisindeedthegovernment・sutmost

urgentandprimarytask(Box3).

Infact,theemphasisontheregionofESFEinRussia・senergypolicyisnota

novelty.Russia・senergystrategiestraditionallycontainregionalcomponent(Table

5).

Comparingthreedocuments― twoStrategiestill2020andtill2030andthe

Drafttill2035― fortheiroverallgoalsandobjectivesforenergypolicyinESFE

(regionalpolicy)andtowardAsia(externalpolicy),itiseasytonoticethatthe

prominenceoftheESFEandAsiaagendashavebeengrowingconstantlyandthe

wordingofrelevanttaskshasbeengainingincreasinglyurgenttone.

Forthefirsttime,numericaltargetsfortheAsianmarketsinRussia・senergy

policyweresetin2003.24 IntheEnergyStrategy(ES)till2020,theRussiangovern-

mentenvisionedthatasmuchas30percentofRussia・soiland15percentofgas

wouldbeexportedtoChina,KoreaandJapan.Thetaskofdiversificationof

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 53

・...[G]overnmentandprivatesectorresourcesshouldgotowarddevelopmentandachievingstrategicobjectives.Forexample,letus

lookatsuchobjectivesasdevelopingSiberiaandtheFarEast.Thisisournationalpriorityfortheentire21stcentury.

Thechallengeswewillneedtotackleareunprecedentedintheirscale,whichmeanswemusttakeunconventionalapproaches.・22

Russia・senergytieswasre-emphasisedin2009,andtheEnergyStrategy2030targets

forthethreecountries・totalsharesweresetas22�25percentforoiland19�20per-

centforgas(Table6).25

Russia・smajorSOC― Gazprom26― hasalsoprojectedthetargetsfortheESFE

gasproductionandAsia-orientedexports.ComparingtheES2030targetswiththose

inGazprom・sEasternGasProgram,thelatterlookmoreambitious(Table7).

FacingdifficultiesindevelopingnewgasdepositsinESFE(fordifferentrea-

sons,amongwhichtherearebothdomestic,suchasaverylimitedregionalgas

demand,andexternal,suchasvarioussetbacksinenteringtheAsiangasmarkets),

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia54

Box3 InstitutionsfortheDevelopmentoftheFarEast:AttemptedandSucceeded

December2006:KamilIskhakov,presidentialplenipotentiary(PP)totheFarEastern

FederalDistrict(FEFD),proposedcreationofaministryforthedevelopmentoftheRussian

FarEast.Theideawasnotsupported.

November2011:thethenPresidentDmitriMedvedevandthegovernmentproposedto

establishaRUR500m($16m)JSCFundforDevelopmentoftheFarEastandtheBaikal

region(theFund)affiliatedwithVneshekonombank(BankofForeignEconomicActivity).

In2012,theFund・scapitalwasincreasedtoRUR15b($0.5b).

January21,2012:SergeiShoigu,MinisterofEmergencySituations,proposedthecreation

ofastatecorporationforthedevelopmentofEasternSiberiaandtheFarEast(theCorpora-

tion).ItwasseenastobesubordinatetothePresidentandreceivebroadauthorities,includ-

ingtheauthoritiesinlicensingnaturalresources.Projectwasrejectedbythegovernment;

MinistryofFinancewasparticularlyagainst.

May21,2012:theFederalMinistryfortheDevelopmentoftheFarEast(MDFE)was

createdbythepresidentialdecree.ViktorIshayev,PPintheFEFD,requestedtheunprece-

dentedpowers,includingthoseoverthefederalpropertyintheregion,whichwerenot

granted.

March2013:MinistryofEconomyproposedtheestablishmentofanautonomousnon-

profitorganizationtofinanceprojectsintheFEFD.TheideawassupportedbyViktor

Ishayev,butafterhisresignationinAugust2013,theprojectwasshelved.

August31,2013:YuriTrutnevsucceededViktorIshayevasthepresidentialenvoytothe

FEFD,butalsoretainedhispostofDeputyPrimeMinister.InOctober2013,Trutnevman-

agedtoexpandtheMDFE・sauthoritiesoverthesubsidies,managementofspecialeconomic

zones,selectionandimplementationofinvestmentprojects,etc.

October,2013:AlexanderGalushka,MinisterforDevelopmentoftheFarEastproposed

tocreateanetworkofterritoriesforadvancedexport-orienteddevelopmentandfortheircoordi-

nation― fourdevelopmentinstitutionstobesupervisedbytheMDFE.Theinitiativewas

notsupportedbythegovernment.

February5,2014:DeputyPrimeMinisterYuriTrutnevpresentedtheideaofcreationof

theterritoriesforadvanceddevelopment(TAD)withpreferentialtaxation(payroll,property,

etc.)intheFEFD.TheestablishmentofanewJSCDevelopmentoftheFarEastwithcapital

ofRUR69b($2b),additionalfundingofRUR100b($3b)fortheFundanditsautonomy

fromVneshekonombank,twospecialisedautonomousorganisationsforthedevelopmentof

theFarEast,registrationofSOCsoperatingintheFEFDintheregion,etc.arenamedamong

theconsideredmeasures.AdditionalRUR170b($5.2b)fortheJSCfinancingarerequested

fromthegovernment.ThesepropositionsarereminiscentofthosemadebySergeiShoigu

(theCorporation)in2012andAlexanderGalushkain2013,whichatthetimewererejected

bytheMinistryofFinanceandtheMinistryofEconomy.Thenew proposalsaretobe

detailedbyMarch2014.

Source:compiledbasedonpublicationsbyKommersant�http://kommersant.ru�.

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 55

Table5 ComparisonofRussia・sEnergyStrategies

ES2020 ES2030 DraftES2035*

Primary

goal

maximisedefficiencyin

energy resource ex-

ploitationandintheuse

of fuel-energy com-

plex・spotentialforthe

purpose of economic

growth and improve-

mentofqualityofliv-

ingstandards

2020 (+sustainable

economic growth)

creationofinnovative

and efficient energy

sector meeting the

needsofgrowingecon-

omyandallowingRus-

sia to strengthen its

foreign economic

status

2030+developmentofdomestic

energyinfrastructure(overcom-

ingimbalanceinfavourofexport

infrastructure);

improving theavailability and

qualityofenergyproductsand

services;

supremacyofprinciplesofsus-

tainabledevelopmentinenergy

governanceatcorporateandna-

tionallevels

Regional

policy

(RP),with

focuson

ESFE

creationofasingleen-

ergyspacethroughthe

development ofinter-

regionalmarkets and

infrastructure, optimi-

zation ofregionalen-

ergy demand-supply

structure;

development of new

large gas producing

centresinESFE;devel-

opment of(domesti-

cally oriented) gas

infrastructureinESFE

2020+coordinationbe-

tween federalenergy

programmes and re-

gionalprogrammesfor

socio-economic devel-

opment;

implementationofin-

novativeandcapital-

intensive(export-ori-

ented) energy pro-

jectsinESFE;

2030+developmentofsystem of

indicatorsformonitoringare-

gion・senergysecurity(RES)**

andanalysisofRES;

prioritiseddevelopmentofen-

ergy infrastructure in ESFE

withmoreaccentuatedfocuson

domestic/regionalneeds;

Foreign

energy

policy

(FEP)

strengthening position

in the globalenergy

markets,mostefficient

utilisation ofFEC ex-

portpotential,increas-

ingcompetitiveness;

utilisationofAsiaPa-

cificmarketspotential

(share in export by

2020:30%(from 3% in

2003),gas― 15%)

main challenge ―

price volatility in

globalenergymarkets;

strengtheningRussia・s

positioninglobalen-

ergymarketsthrough

improvedcompetitive-

ness;geographic and

productdiversification

ofexports;

furtherpromotion of

commonEurasianen-

ergymarket;

increasing role of

AsiaPacificmarkets

(26�27% ofenergyex-

portsin2030)

main challenge ― increasing

globalcompetition;

2030+adaptationofFEPtonew

trendsindevelopment;

strengthening position in LNG

globalmarket;

stableenergyrelationshipsand

developmentofdialogueswith

traditionalpartners;

adaptationtostructuralandinsti-

tutionalchangesintheEuropean

markets;

rapidentrytotheAsia-Pacific

markets(region・sshareinoilex-

ports― 32%,gas― 31%,totalen-

ergy― 28% in2035);

enhancedenergydialoguewith

Asianpartners;

finalisinggasnegotiationswith

China

Notes:

* ThecompleteversionoftheDraftofEnergyStrategy2035wasnotavailableatthetimeofwriting

(February2014).ThecomparisonisbasedupontheDraftEnergyStrategyoftheRussianFedera-

tionto2035�http://minenergo.gov.ru/documents/razrabotka/17481.html�(inRussian)

** ConceptualprovisionsoftheDraftoftheEnergySecurityDoctrineoftheRussianFederationare

availableat�www.labenin.z4.ru/Docs/en_bezop_project.doc�(inRussian)

GazpromhasbeenregularlyrevisingitsEasternProgramtargets.WhileLNGpro-

ductionandexport― forwhichGazprom・sCEOMilleralwaysverywillingly(but

unjustly)creditshiscompany― progresses,othergoalsremainunattainedlargely

duetoGazprom・sfailuretofinalisethepipelinedealwithChina.

3.3.2.Institutions

NEAhasnoinstitutionsofanycomparablewiththoseintheEUscope.InNEA,

Russia・sgaslinksaresupportedbybilateralframeworksmainlyofadhocformat.

WhatappearstobeimportantisthattheRussiangovernmentencountersnopercep-

tibleinconsistencyattheinstitutionallevelwiththeNEA states.Weakintra-

regionalcooperationintheenergyrealm ― resultoftheoverallrathercomplex

geopoliticalenvironmentintheregion― istoacertaindegreebeneficialtoRussia,

whichtakesadvantageofexistingspaceforamanoeuvrewhennegotiatingthe

dealswitheachcountryseparately.AnotherspecificcomponentofRussia・senergy

policytowardsNEAisthatinordertoimplementtheAsian(orEastern)Vectorand

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia56

Table6 ExcerptsfromES2030onGasProductioninEasternSiberiaandRussianFarEast

Phase1:

2013�2015

Phase2:

2016�2020/22

Phase3:

2021/23�2030

totalgasproduction,bcmincluding: 685�745 803�837 885�940

EasternSiberia(ES) 9�13 26�55 45�65

RussianFarEast(RFE)including: 34�40 65�67 85�87

Sakhalin 31�36 36�37 50�51

gasproductioninESandRFE,% tototal 7�8% 12�14% 15%

totalgasexport,bcm 270�294 332�341 349�368

shareofAsiaPacificintotalexport,% 11�12% 16�17% 19�20%

LNGexport,% tototalexport 6�7% 10�11% 14�15%

Source:composedbyauthorbasedondatafrompp.102and111.

Table7 ExcerptsfromGazprom・sEasternProgram,272007

2010 2015 2020 2030

totalgasproductioninESFE,bcmincluding: 27 85 150 162

EasternSiberia 5 50 55 57

FarEast 22 35 95 105

gasconsumptioninESFE,bcm 13 18 41 46

export,bcm 14 23 71 78

pipelineexport,bcm ― 9 50 50

LNGexport,bcm 14 14 21 28

Source:composedbyauthorbasedondatafromoriginaldocument.

facilitategasdevelopmentinEasternSiberiaandtheFarEast(ESFE),whichis

extremelychallengedbyavarietyofnaturalfactors(climatic,geographical,geologi-

cal,etc.)translatingintohighcostsofgasproduction,thegovernmentintroduceda

system ofregion-specificincentives(suchastaxbreaks,exportdutyexemptions,

etc.).Thisisperceivedasanessentialpolicyprovisionaimedtoinitialisehydrocar-

bonproductionintheESFE.

WhataretheinstitutionsservingthepurposeofRussia・senergycooperation

withtheNEAcountriesandhowmuchcoherenceattheinstitutionallevelisbeing

indeedobserved?Ingeneral,itisthenationalinstitutionsthatRussiaandtheNEAs

areemployingtofostertheirenergyties.Nonetheless,severalspecificaspectsseem

tobeofimportancehere.

First,owingtotheirownratherrecentdevelopmentexperiences,28theNEAs

demonstratemoretoleranceaboutstate・sdirectinterventioninacertainindustryor

theeconomyasawhole.ThisperfectlymatchesRussia・scontemporaryapproach

toenergygovernance,whichcanbebestdescribedinthecategoriesofstate

capitalism.29 TheRussianandtheNEAs・governmentshavealwaysplayedacrucial

roleinlayingoutthegroundworkforenergycooperation,aswellasinsortingout

themattersofargumentintheirbilateralenergyties.IntheNEAcontext,itisa

normalpracticethatthegovernmentsworkincloseconnectionwiththebusinesses

andtheireffortstendtointensifywhenacontroversialquestionarises.Therewere

variousillustrationsofthelatter,tonameafew,suchasthe2006Gazprom・sentryto

theSakhalin�II,thedisputebetweenGazpromandSakhalin�IoperatorExxonMobil

withregardtotheIOCsandRosneft・sChina-orientedgasexportplans,thecaseofoil

pricedisputeintheESPO�IDaqingSpurtoChina,theRosneft― TNK�BPdeal,

Gazprom― CNPCnegotiationsontheroutingofgaspipelineandthetermsofsup-

ply,etc.Theofficialbilateralframeworkswereindispensableinallthosecasesand

wererepeatedlyactivatedtofosterthesebusinesstobusinessagreementsorsettle

thedisputes.

AlthoughthedecisionmakinginRussia・senergysectorformallylieswithsuch

agenciesastheMinistryofEnergy,MinistryofNaturalResourcesandEcology,

FederalAgencyforSubsoilUse,etc.anumberofindirectorevensomewhatinfor-

malarrangementsprovetobemoreinfluentialinreality.Thereisanintensecompe-

titionamongtheagenciesinvolvedwiththeenergypolicymakinginRussia.That

istosay,thepowersoftheGovernmentalCommissionontheFuelandEnergyCom-

plexandRegenerationoftheMineralandRawMaterialsBaseestablishedin200530

arebeingchallengedbythePresidentialCommissionforStrategicDevelopmentof

theFuelandEnergySectorandEnvironmentalSecuritysinceitwascreatedinJune

2012.31 ChairedbyPresidentVladimirPutinwithRosneft・sCEOIgorSechinacting

asanexecutivesecretary,thePresidentialCommissionhasanextensivemandate

embracingtariff,taxandpricepolicyforpetrochemicals,gasandelectricityand

investment,allofwhichisofbindingpowerforotherauthorities.Inturn,theGov-

ernmentalCommission(currently chaired by Deputy PrimeMinisterArkady

Dvorkovich)haseffectivelybecomeabodyforrunningmainlycoordinatingactivi-

ties.ThePresidentialCommissionandtheGovernmentCommissionoftenconfront

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 57

eachotheronthemostprincipalissuesofthenationalfuelenergycomplexdevelop-

ment.

Longtimedebateaboutthenecessityofthefuelenergysector・sprivatization

andthegovernment・swithdrawalfromtheBoDsintheSOEs32hassofarnotresulted

inanyconcretestepstowardsthat.WhilePrimeMinisterDmitryMedvedev,who

fatheredtheideaatthetimeofhispresidency,refereedto2016astheyearbywhich

privatisation ofthe SOCs and streamlining ofdecision-making may start

materialising,thislooksincreasinglyunrealistic.TheCEOsofmajorSOCs,suchas

Gazprom,RosneftandTransneft,remaincloselyinvolvedwiththeenergypolicy

makinginRussia.Frequently,itisperformedintheformofthedirectpetitionsto

thePresidentorlobbyinginthefederalgovernmententities(MinistryofEnergy,

MinistryofFinance,etc.)foramorefavourableregulationtobeextendedtothe

SOCsconcerned.TheSOCscustomarilygroundtheirreasoningforanexceptional

treatment(liketaxbreaks,simplifiedprocedureoflicensingfornewdeposits,etc.)

tobegrantedupontheircomplaintsaboutprohibitivelyhighcostsofthedevelop-

mentofthegreenfieldsinRussia・sNorthandEastbothinlandandoffshore.33 Ex-

pectedly,suchlobbyingoftenleadstoaconflictofinterestsof,say,theentities

assignedwithconductingthepoliciesdirectedatoilandgasproductiongrowth(the

MinistryofEnergy)andtheentitiesassignedwiththefiscalfunctions(theMinistry

ofFinance).Tobeobjective,intherecentyears,therehavebeengrowingconsolida-

tionamongtheindustrialiststhemselves(e.g.,undertheUnionofOilandGasPro-

ducersofRussia)andstrengtheningcoordinationoftheirattemptstopresentthe

governmentwiththeirinsightsintothesector・smostacuteproblemsandtheirvi-

sionsabouttheappropriatewaystocurethesector・s,bymanyestimates,critical

situation.34

Second,Russia・senergypolicytowardsNEA embracesanumberofspecific

arrangementsenactedintheFarEastforthepurposeofrapiddevelopmentofoil

andgasresourceslocatedintheregion(Figure2).This,infact,allowsdistinguish-

ingaregion-specificpatterninRussia・scontemporaryenergypolicy(Shadrina

2013a).Theregionalcomponentnonethelessneedstobeunderstoodcorrectly:there

isnodelegationofauthoritytotheregionallevel.Likewise,therearenodiscretions

opentotheregionalgovernmentsoverthemattersinvolvingthedevelopmentofthe

resourceslocatedintheRFE.Theregion-specificpatternwithinRussianenergy

policyisdeliberatelyestablishedandstrictlycontrolledbythecentralgovernment

throughthesystemoffiscal,licensing,tariff,foreigninvestment,etc.regulationand

implementedthroughthegovernment・srelianceontheSOCs:Gazpromingassector,

RosneftinoilindustryandTransneftinoilexporttransportation.Inasense,the

RFEisamererecipientofthetransplantedpolicymodewithverylimitedcapabili-

tiestoparticipateinenergypolicyformulationanditsimplementation,despiteit

directlyrelatestheregion・snaturalresources.

Addressingthebilateralframeworksintheareaofoilandgascooperation,

RussiahasestablishedenergydialogueswitheachofNEA�3.Also,asFigurepre-

sents,therearevariousbilateralagreementsonclosereconomiccooperationbe-

tweenRussiaandtheNEAcountriesforthedevelopmentoftheESFE,includingits

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia58

oilandgassectors.Whilethelatteraddressmorepracticalissues,twootherframe-

worksconcerngascooperationinall-NEAformatandattemptcontributingtogas

policy-makingintheregion.UndertheUNauspices,forinstance,theIntergovern-

mentalCollaborativeMechanism on Energy Cooperation in North-EastAsia

(ICMECNEA)wasestablishedin2005.35 OneofthedeficienciesoftheICMECNEAis

thatJapan,asignificantgasconsumerandimporter,isnotitsmember.Anotherrare

exampleofall-NEAframeworkforgascooperationistheNortheastAsianGasand

PipelineForum(NAGPF),36anon-profitorganizationconsistingoffivemember

countriesincludingRussia(representedbyAsianPipelineResearchSocietyofthe

RussianFederation),China(AsiaGasandPipelineCooperationResearchCenterof

China(AGPRCC),Korea(KoreaPan-AsianNaturalGasandPipelineAssociation),

Mongolia(PetroleumAuthorityofMongolia)andJapan(NortheastAsianGasand

PipelineForumofJapan).Sinceitsfoundationin1997,theNAGPFhasbeenpromot-

ingnaturalgasdevelopmentintheNEAsthroughtheinternationalconferencesand

jointresearchprojects.Japanhasbeenactivelyutilizingthisplatforminarticula-

tionofitsinterestinregionalpipelinelinks.

Onthewhole,themultilateralframeworksplayaverylimitedroleinthedevel-

opmentofenergycooperationinNEA.Thebilateralschemesareofmoreuse,asin

ratherdisintegratedcontextofNEAtheyprovetobemoreexpedientmechanismin

facilitatingtheprojectsandsolvingtheissueswheneversucharise.TheNEAs

assessratherpositivelytheRussianstate・sprofoundinvolvementwiththegassec-

tordevelopmentintheRFE.Moreover,thisisperceivedasacertainlevelof

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 59

Figure2 ComponentsofRegion-SpecificEnergyPolicy:theRFE

Source:composedbyauthor.

guaranteewhichtheRussiangovernmentensurestoitsAsianpartners.Within

Russiaitself,however,thismodelofenergygovernanceintheRFEiscriticizedas

disadvantageousforthenationaleconomy(thisaspectisaddressedintheconclud-

ingpartofthearticle).

4.Discussion:HowMuchConsistencydoesAsiaOffer?

Russia・sgaspolicytowardsNEAisinfluencedbyarangeoffactors.Certainly,

geopoliticalenvironmentdefinesthedynamicsofRussia・sgaslinkswithNEA.

Particularly,averyslowprogressinpipelineprojectsoriginatesprimarilyfromthis

sortofconcerns.ButtherearealsootheraspectsthatRussianeedstobeespecially

attentivewhilemasteringitsgastieswiththeNEAs.Amongthosemajortrends

therearetheongoingstructuraltransformationsinthegasmarketstriggeredbythe

increasingunconventionalgasproductioninNorthAmerica,theshiftsinNEAs・

nationalgasstrategiestowardsfurtherdiversificationoftheirsupplies,theNEAs・

growingambitionstoexpandtheshareofindigenousgasthroughunconventional

gasproduction(CBM,SNGandshalegasinChina)oredge-cuttingtechnologies

(methanehydrateandcleancoaltechnologiesinJapanandKorea).

Therearealsoclearlyspeltprioritiesfortheliberalisationofdomesticgasmar-

kets.SpeakingofChina・sgaspricingreform,37itmakestheprospectsforthefuture

importssomewhatambivalent:itmaysignifytheopportunitiesforadditionalvol-

umesofmoreexpensivesupplies,butitmayalsoresultinlargerdomesticproduc-

tion,becausetheChineseproducerswillbemoremotivatedtoexpandtheirgas

production,therebylesseningtheneedforimports.UnderthetenetsofAbenomics,

Japanlooksincreasinglyresolutetointroducemorecompetitionintothedomestic

electricitymarket,38whichinturnwouldresultinagreaternumberofLNGimport-

ers.ThiscouldbeapositivechangefortheRussianexporters,whichnow deal

almostexclusivelywithJapan・stenlargeelectricityutilities.Also,intheFukushima

aftermaththedemandforLNGimportsgrows.Asof2012,LNG,whichsubstitutes

forthehaltednuclearreactors,occupiesasignificant48percentshareinelectricity

generation(from29percentin2010).39 Byallmeasures,JapaneseLNGdemand(al-

readytheworld・slargest)standstoincreasefurther.Theworld・ssecondlargest

LNGimporter― Korea― mayalsobeseenasofferingmoreopportunitiesforthe

LNGexporters,sincethegovernmentlowereditstargetsfornuclearpowergenera-

tion(Table2).

Nonetheless,itisoverallbecomingincreasinglyapparentthatitisnotonly

China,butKoreaandJapan,whichareseriouslyconcernedaboutthepriceofthe

futuresupplies.ItisthereforeaprincipalmatterforRussiawhilecompetinginone

ofthelargestregionalsegmentsoftheglobalisingLNGbusinessandobserving

self-benefittoproffercommerciallyattractiveofferstotheNEAgasbuyers.

Russia・sgascooperationwithNEAswouldinevitablyrequiretheJapaneseand

KoreanNOCs・andotherIOCs・investments.TheChinese-RussianNOCs・loan-for-

gasschemeswouldbeasimportantasthoseintheareaofbilateraloilties(Shadrina

2013b).Overall,theChinesecompaniesdemonstratetheirsheerinteresttoRus-

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia60

sia・sequitygas.GiventhespecificsoftheNEAstates・energydiplomacies(whichin

mostgeneralformcanbedescribedbytheChinese・goingout― bringingin・ver-

sion),Russiacannolongerneglecttheirinterestingasequities.Seekingthestate-

of-the-arttechnicalcapacitiestodevelopgeologicallychallenginggasdepositsinthe

ESFEandtechnologicalcapabilitiestoproducehighvalue-addedpetrochemical

productsintheESFE,Russiahasnorealisticalternativebuttoadoptamoreforeign

investmentfriendlylegislationandallowtheIOCs・andNOCs・entrytotheRussian

gasvaluechain.

SpeakingofNEA・sinstitutionalsetting,sofartheinternationalcooperation

(tradeandinvestment,forinstance)ingassectorhasbeenrunexclusivelyuponthe

bilateralagreements.However,therearesomerecentattemptstointroducemulti-

lateralarrangementsfortheAsiangasmarkets.AmongthosearetheIEA-ledjoint

studyontheestablishmentofnaturalgastradinghubinAsia,Japan― Indiastudy

grouponpricingofLNGintheAsiaPacificmarket,Japan・sinitiativetolisttheU.S.

dollar-denominatedLNGfuturesattheTokyoCommodityExchangeandestablish

apricebenchmarkforLNGbyMarch2015,etc.Thesesundrymovesdemonstrate

thattheAsiangasmarketshavestartedevolvingtowardsbeingmoreefficiently

structuredandbettercoordinatedbytheregionalgasbuyers.Thelatter,asis

known,haveallalongbeenespeciallydiscontentwiththeAsianpremiumresulting

inLNGpricesinAsiabeingtimesabovetheHenryHub(HH)benchmark.Asfaras

suchfeaturesasadestinationclauseandtheoverallpredominanceoflong-term

contractsoverspottrade(whichregionalLNGimportersconsiderasthedisadvan-

tagesoftheAsianLNGmarkets)areconcerned,Russiahasbeenshowingsome

flexibility40andthereforemanagedtoestablishcrediblereputationwiththeNEA

buyers.Becauseitisunlikelythatconcernedaboutsecurityoftheirgassupply100

percentimport-dependentJapanandKoreaand30percentimport-dependentChina

wouldoptforimportbasedsolelyonspottrade,Russiamaybehavearoom for

manoeuvrewithinabalancedportfoliooflong-termandspotgascontractswiththe

NEAs.

5.ConclusionandPolicyRecommendations:OrorAnd?

Russiahascertainlyprogressedtowardsitsgoalofgasexportsdiversification

(Table8).However,thisresultisentirelyduetotheSakhalinII・sLNGplantopera-

tion,whichremainstheonlygasprojectRussiamanagedtoimplementintheRFE.

Inthiscase,participationofforeigncapitalunderthePSA schemeneedstobe

recognisedascriticallyimportant.

SpeakingofRussia・sfutureplansintheAsiangasmarkets,thereisagreat

numberofprojectsRussiaaimstolaunch(Table9).ProvidedRussiaissuccessful

intheirimplementation,thecountrystandstosignificantlystrengthenitsprofile,

growingfromthecurrentnicheofjustunder5percentoftheglobalLNGproduction

toabout10percentby2020.41

Whataretheconditionstosucceed?Themostgenericonescanbeformulated

astothinkstrategicallyandactsharply.Meanwhile,recentlyrevealeddraftofthe

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 61

ES2035gavedomesticenergyexperts44plentyofreasonstoassessthedocumentas

theoneprovingthatstrategicthinkinginRussia・senergypolicyisyetlargelylack-

ing.

WhatappearstobeabsolutelyessentialforRussiaistothinkaboutthewaysof

energypolicyoptimization.Russia・spolicytowardsNEAneedstoincorporatethe

long-term visionandadoptamorecomprehensiveapproach.Thedimensionsfor

policyoptimizationembracethedomesticandexternalscopes.Domestically,there

isagreatnumberofcriticalissueswhichareinterconnectedandneedtobe

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia62

Table8 Russia・sGasExportsDistribution:ActualandProjectedintheEnergyStrategy2030,%

Region 2005 2008 2012 1ph. 2ph. 3ph. 2030against2008*

Europe 62.5 64 69.9/63.0** 57.8 56.9 56.1 - 8

CIS 37.5 36 30.1/27.1** 31.6 26.6 23.7 -12

AsiaPacific 0 0 -/9.9** 10.6 16.3 20.2 +20

Source:developedbytheauthorbasedontheStrategy2030,BPStatistics2013andShadrina(2010b).

Notes:

dataforeachphaseareaveragesbasedontheEnergyStrategy2030・sscenarios;

columnmarkedwith*presentstheoverallchange(・-・decrease;・+・increase)ingeographicalstruc-

tureofgasexportsby2030against2008;

datafor2005,2008and2012arefactualandserveforthe・target-achievement・comparison;

two-dataset(**)reflectsshareofaregioninRussia・sexportofpipelinegas/shareofaregionin

Russia・stotalgasexportswithLNGincluded.

Table9 Russia・sActualandProjectedGasExportstoNEA,bcm/y

Projects 2012 2017 2019 2030

SakhalinIILNGplant(GazpromSakhalinHoldingsB.V.

50%+1;ShellSakhalinHoldingsB.V.

14.99 15 15 15

YamalLNG(16.5Mt,Novatek 60% & Total20% &

Sinopec20%)

4.14 4.14+・X・4.14+・X・

VladivostokLNG(Gazprom&JapanFarEastGasCo.42) 13.8/20.7 13.8/20.7

SakhalinIILNGplant3rdtrain 6.9 6.9

RNLNGplantinSakhalin(SakhalinIII,plantconstruc-

tionRosneft&ExxonMobil&GeneralElectric;Sakhalin

I,long-termsalescontractsbtwnRosneft&Marubeniand

Rosneft&SODECO43)

20.7 20.7

PowerofSiberiapipeline,akaEasternRoute(SilaSibiri,

PowerofSiberia)[Irkutsk-]Yakutiya― SKV)

38 61

Altaipipeline*,akaWesternRoute 30

Total 15 1999/105+

・X・

152/158+

・X・

Source:composedbyauthorbasedonvarioussources.

Note:

・X・denotesunknown/undecidedquantitiesofgassupplytoNEAs.

*RussianGovernmentOrdinanceonTheRoadmapofTerritorialPlanningintheRussianFederation

intheAreaofFederalTransport(inthePartofPipelineTransport)(Schematerritorialjnogo

planirovaniyaRossiiskoiFederatsiivoblastifederaljnogotransporta(vchastitruboprovodnogo

transporta)No.1416-r,August13,2013.

addressedsystematically.Tonamebutafewpossibledirections,Russiacould:

―revisittheregion-specificsub-patternwithinRussianenergypolicytowardsa

broaderapproach(e.g.,liberalisationofforeigninvestment;incentivesforsmall-and

midsizedoilandgasproducers;etc.).Thisappearstobeespeciallyimportantforthe

developmentofnew gasdeposits,becausecommercialtermsinbothschemes―

pipelinegasandLNGexports― arelikelytobedeterminedbytheformatofNEA

capitalparticipation(loansvs.investment)inRussia・sESFEgasprojects;

―accentuatepolicyincentivesongeologicalprospectingandadvancedtech-

nologiesimplementation;

―implement(fiscal)reformsenforcingeconomicallyrational(cost-reducing)

behaviourofSOCs.EconomicperformanceofGazprom(heavilyindebted,thecom-

panylost2/3ofitscapitalisationin2012alone)demandsthegovernment・sattention

andaction.Rosneft・sfinancialresultsalsoincreasinglyconcerntheanalysts45;

―morefullyutiliserapidlymultiplyingopportunitiesinNEA.Russianeedsto

bewell-equippedtorespondtoquicklymaturingmarketsofNEAs(e.g.,growing

competitionamonggassuppliers(NorthAmericanshalegas,EastAfrican―Kenya,

Tanzania,Mozambique― LNG);Japan・sinitiativeforLNGfuturesandLNGprice

benchmark;progressingatanunprecedentedpacedevelopmentofrenewableen-

ergy;etc.);etc.

Thereisarangeofareas,suchasenvironment,technologiesandinnovations,

wherecooperationwithNEAsiscriticallyimportanttoRussia.Asarecognized

geopoliticalactorinNEA,Russiaisresponsibleforlivinguptotheexpectationsof

thestatesintheregioninthemattersoftheDPRKstalemate.Energycooperation,

astheauthorarguedinherdoctoralthesis,46issuchawaytowardscloserintegration

intheregion.Settlingthebilateraldisputes,developingintra-regionalframeworks

forenergycooperationandexpandingthemtoconnectwithothernationsinAsia

(toembracetheASEAN+3format,forinstance),thisisthestrategyRussianeedsto

follow.Inshort,Russiashouldmake・EuropeANDAsia・,asopposedto・EuropeOR

Asia・,apivotalprincipleofitsnationalenergypolicy.

1 EasternSiberiaincludessuchregionsasBuryatRepublic,IrkutskOblast・,Krasnoyarsk

Krai,RepublicofKhakassiya,TuvaRepublicandZabaikalje(Trans-Baikal)Krai.An-

otherabbreviationusedthroughoutthisworkisRFE,whichstandsfortheRussianFar

East,aregionconsistingofnineterritories:AmurOblast・,ChukotkaAutonomousOkrug,

JewishAutonomousOblast・,KamchatkaKrai,KhabarovskKrai,MagadanOblast・,

PrimorskyKrai,SakhaRepublic,SakhalinOblast・.

2 ThegeographicalboundariesofNEAremainlooseandareofteninterpretedvariously

dependingonapurposeofaspecificinquiry.ThisstudycentresonNEAasbeingin-

formedbytheRussianFederation,Japan,thePeople・sRepublicofChina(China)andthe

RepublicofKorea(Korea).ThelatterthreearefrequentlyreferredtoasNEA�3.

3 BasedontheWorldBank・sdataonoilandgasrevenues.

4 ThesesofMinisterofEnergyNovakA.V.Speech・PrioritiesoftheRussianenergypoli-

cy・atBrookings,USA,December6,2013andDraftEnergyStrategyoftheRussian

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 63

Notes

Federationto2035�http://minenergo.gov.ru/documents/razrabotka/17481.html�

5 FordetailsonmethodologyofcomposingtheResourceGovernanceIndexvisitweb-site

oftheRevenueWatchInstitute�http://www.revenuewatch.org/rgi/methodology�.

6 NIEisrelativelyyoung,butincreasinglypopularwiththescholarsareaofknowledge.

Formoreseeweb-pageoftheInternationalSocietyforNew InstitutionalEconomics

�http://www.isnie.org/�

7 Thetermisfrequentlymisunderstood;・institutions・areofteninterpretedasonlyformal

arrangementsorevenmoremistakenlyastheorganisationsorframeworks(example

couldbefoundinHarris,2008).

8 Formoredetaileddiscussiononrelevantterminology(institutions,rules,transaction

costs,propertyrights,etc.)referto:Chapter19・IntroductoryObservations・,pp.381�422;

Ostrom,E.,1986.AnAgendafortheStudyofInstitutions.Chapter21,pp.429�451;

MenardC.,Chapter25・MarketsasInstitutionsversusOrganisationsasMarkets?Disen-

tanglingSomeFundamentalConcepts・pp.496-517in:C.Menard(Ed.),2004.TheFounda-

tionsofNewInstitutionalEconomics.TheInternationalLibraryoftheNewInstitutional

Economics.

9 See:Groenewegen,J.,Spithoven,A.,Berg,A.,2010.InstitutionalEconomics.Palgrave

Macmillan.p.25.

10 See:Chapter7・ATheoryofInstitutionalChange:ConceptsandCauses・,2004,pp.125�147

in:C.Menard(Ed.)TheFoundationsofNewInstitutionalEconomics.TheInternational

LibraryoftheNewInstitutionalEconomics.

11 See:Mueller,D.,1988.PublicChoiceII,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress;Wolf,C.,

1988,MarketsorGovernments:ChoosingBetweenImperfectAlternatives,Cambridge,

MA:MITPress.

12 ConceptofStateEnergyPolicyinNew EconomicSituation(GovernmentResolution

№ 26,September10,1992);PrincipalProvisionsofEnergyStrategyoftheRussianFed-

erationtill2010(GovernmentResolutionNo.1006,October13,1995);PrincipalProvisions

ofEnergyStrategyoftheRussianFederationtill2020(GovernmentApprovalNo.39,

November23,2000);EnergyStrategyoftheRussianFederationtill2020(Government

OrdinanceNo.1234�r,August28,2003);EnergyStrategyoftheRussianFederationtill

2030(GovernmentOrdinanceNo.1715�r,November13,2009)

13 See:http://www.bp.com/conversionfactors.jsp

14 Kanter,JamesandAndrewE.Kramer.2013.EuropeThreatensGazpromwithAntitrust

Action.TheNew YorkTimes,October,3�http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/busi

ness/international/europe-threatens-gazprom-with-antitrust-action.html?_r=0�

15 Gazprom slishkom privyazanknefti.Kommersant,February10,2014�http://www.

kommersant.ru/doc/2404296?isSearch=True�

16 PresidentialAddresstotheFederalAssemble,December13,2013�http://www.rg.ru/

2013/12/12/poslanie.html�(inRussian),�http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6402�(inEng-

lish)

17 Chung,J,.2014.SouthKoreacutsfuturerelianceonnuclearpower,butnew plants

likely.Reuters.January13�http://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-cuts-future-reliance-

nuclear-power-plants-034049040--finance.html�

18 ForthePSAshistoryanddevelopmentssee:Krysiek,T.,2007.AgreementsfromAnother

Era:ProductionSharingAgreementsinPutin・sRussia,2000�2007OxfordInstitutefor

EnergyWP34.November�http://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/

2010/11/WPM34-AgreementsFromAnotherEraProductionSharingAgreementsinPutinsRussia

2000-2007-TimothyFentonKrysiek-2007.pdf�

19 In2006RussiapressuredtheSakhalinIIconsortium promptingtheforeigncompanies

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia64

operatingtheprojectunderthePSAtosellcontroloftheprojecttoGazprom(Bradshaw

2008).ThereasoningonthepartoftheRussianGovernmentwastogaincontrolover

thecostsoftheprojectthathadmorethandoubled,toensuremoreoftherevenuesfrom

theprojectwouldcometoRussianparties,andtohaveadirectsayintheproject・sex-

portmarketingstrategy.Putmorebluntly,neitherPresidentPutinnorGazpromcould

acceptthataforeignconsortiumwasdeliveringRussia・sfirstLNGtotheAsianmarket.

See:ShadrinaandBradshaw2013.

20 UpontheprovisionsintheFederalLawNo.117�FL・Ongasexport・,2006

21 Asofnow,onlyfourcompaniesRosneft,Novatek,SOCsZarubezhneftandGazprommet

thegovernment-setcriteriaandareeligibleforLNGexports.Accordingtothelaw,only

thosecompanieswhichhavemorethan50percentofstateownershipandsecuredtheir

plansforLNGplants・constructionbeforeJanuary1,2013willbegrantedsucharight.

Theliberalisationcanbecalledpartialnotonlybecauseofaverylimitednumberof

eligibleexporters,butalsobecausethegovernmentsetupacoordinationmechanism(to

preventcompetitionamongRussianLNGexportersinexternalmarkets),whichrequires

theexporterstosubmittheirexportplanstotheMinistryofEnergy.Thenewlyen-

dorsedlawonLNGexportliberalisationrequirestheamendmentstoArticle3ofthe

FederalLaw・OnGasExport・andArticles13and24oftheFederalLaw・OnthePrinci-

plesofStateRegulationofForeignTrade.・

22 PresidentialAddresstotheFederalAssemble,December13,2013�http://www.rg.ru/

2013/12/12/poslanie.html�(inRussian),�http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6402�(inEng-

lish)

23 Blagov,S.,2010.RussiaPlansFarEasternEnergyDrive.EurasiaDailyMonitor.7(130).

24 EnergeticheskayaSrategiyaRossiinaPerioddo2020Goda.2003.p.34�http://www.

domenergy.ru/files/Files/strategy.pdf�

25 EnergeticheskayaStrategiyaRossiinaPerioddo2030Goda.2009.p.9�www.kuzesc.ru/

laws/Rasp_Pravit/RP_1715.doc?�

26 EventhoughGazprom isconstantlylosingouttoindependentgasproducers,itstill

produces73percentofgas.

27 TheProgramofCreationofUnifiedSystemofGasProduction,TransportationandSup-

pliesinEastSiberiaandtheFarEastwithPossibilityofExportingGastoChinaand

otherAsia-PacificCountries(EasternGasProgram).Theinitialdocumentwasadopted

bytheMinistryofEnergyoftheRussianFederation,OrderNo.340ofSeptember3,2007,

butitsaw someamendmentsin2011and2013�http://bestpravo.ru/rossijskoje/rx-

normy/r9n.htm�

28 See:forinstanceSamuels,1987.

29 Shadrina,2013a.

30 See:http://government.ru/docs/333orhttp://www.pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody

=&prevDoc=102103701&backlink=1&&nd=102330030

31 See:http://www.kremlin.ru/news/15656

32 In2010,forinstance,thefederalgovernment・sofficialswererepresentedonthecompa

nies・BoDsasfollows:Gazprom― FirstDeputyPrimeMinister(chairman),Ministerof

IndustryandTrade,MinisterofEconomicDevelopment,SpecialRepresentativeofPresi-

dentforInternationalCooperation;Rosneft― DeputyPrimeMinister(chairman),Head

oftheFederalAgencyforStatePropertyManagement;Transneft― MinisterofEnergy

(chairman);Zarubezhneft―MinisterofEnergy(chairman);RZD―DeputyPrimeMin-

ister(chairman).

33 Fedorov,P.,2013.VsekrupneishiekompaniiobratilisjvMinenergozapolucheniemljgot.

February7�http://www.rusenergy.com/ru/news/news.php?id=64531�

InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia 65

34 Seepublicationsontheweb-pageoftheUnionofOilandGasProducersofRussia

�http://www.sngpr.ru/tribune.php�

35 FormoredetailseetheFive-YearStrategy(2010�2014)toimplementtheIntergovern-

mentalCollaborativeMechanismonEnergyCooperationinNorth-EastAsia.Available

athttp://www.unescap.org/ESD/Energy-Security-and-Water-Resources/energy/trade_

and_cooperation/cooperation/documents/FiveYearStrategy-ECNEA.pdf,accessed5Octo-

ber2013,

36 FormoreinformationrefertotheNAGPFweb-page.Availableathttp://www.nagpf.

info/introduce/about_us.htm,accessed5September2013.

37 Formoredetailsee:GasPricingandRegulation.China・sChallengesandIEAExperience.

OECD/IEA.2012andKushkina,KseniaandEdwardChow(2013)・GoldenAge・ofgasin

China.Istherestillawindowofopportunityformoregasexportstochina? Yegor

GaidarFellowshipPrograminEconomics.USRF.IREX.

38 FormoredetailonplannedelectricitymarketreformsinJapansee:ThePolicyonElec-

tricitySystemReform.CabinetDecision.April2,2013�http://www.meti.go.jp/english/

press/2013/pdf/0402_01a.pdf�;Yamazaki,T.,2013.ElectricityMarketReform inJapan.

ElectricityMarketReformOffice,METIAgencyforNaturalResourcesandEnergySep-

tember11 �http://www.eu-japan.eu/sites/eu-japan.eu/files/Session2_Yamazaki.pdf�;

Sheldrick,A.,Tsukimori,O.,2013.Japanpasseslawtolaunchreformofelectricitysector.

Reuters,November13�http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-japan-power-dere

gulation-idUSBRE9AC08N20131113�

39 Forsomerelevantdatareferto�http://www.eu-japan.eu/sites/eu-japan.eu/files/Ses

sion2_Yamazaki.pdf�

40 LearntfrompersonalcommunicationswithRussianandJapanesepractitioners.

41 Kuzjmin,V.,KrugEksportyorovRasshiren.RossiiskayaGazeta.31.10.2013�http://

www.rg.ru/2013/10/30/gaz-site.html�

42 AconsortiumoffiveJapanesecompanies,includingItochuCorp.,JapanPetroleumEx-

plorationCo.(JAPEX)andMarubeniCorp.

43 SakhalinOilandGasDevelopmentCo.― aconsortium establishedin1974,unites

JAPEX,JOGMEC,ItochuCorp.andMarubeniCorp.

44 Milov,V.,2014.GlavnayaProblenaEnergeticheskoiStrategiivtom,chtoeepishutne

Vizionery,aTechnokraty�http://www.rusenergy.com/ru/comments/comments.php?

id=72488�;Mitrova,T.,2014.GeneralyTEKGotovyatsyakProshedshimVoinam�http://

www.rusenergy.com/ru/comments/comments.php?id=72458�

45 Mukhin,A.,2014.LukavyeTsifryRosnefti�http://www.rusenergy.com/ru/comments/

comments.php?id=72710�

46 Shadrina,Elena(2009)EnergyCooperationinNortheastAsia:InsightintoImpacton

RegionFormation.UnpublishedPhDDissertation.GraduateSchoolofModernSociety

andCulture,NiigataUniversity,Japan.

Andrews-Speed,P.,2010.TheInstitutionsofEnergyGovernanceinChina.Brussels:Ifri.

Baev,P.,2010.Russia・sArcticPolicy:Geopolitics,Mercantilism,andIdentity-Building.Brief-

ingPaperNo.73.Helsinki:FinnishInstituteofForeignAffairs.

Balmaceda,M.,2008.EnergyDependency,PoliticsandCorruptionintheFormerSovietUnion.

Russia・sPower,Oligarchs・ProfitsandUkraine・sMissingEnergyPolicy,1995�2006.London

andNewYork:Routledge.

Bayulgen,O.,2010.ForeignInvestmentandPoliticalRegimes.Cambridge:CambridgeUni-

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InstitutionalDimensionsinRussia・sNaturalGasPolicyinNortheastAsia68

Introduction

AccordingtoUN�HABITAT,halfofthepopulationoftheworldlivesinurban

areasandthisratioisexpectedtoincreaseto70% bytheyear2050.Meanwhile,the

totalurbanareaoccupiesonly3% ofthesurfaceoftheearth.1 Urbanconcentration

inthissmallareaisnowdrivenbythemega-cities,whichholdmillionsofpeople.

Althoughurbanismprovidesvariousbenefits,itshouldbenotedthatthehighpopu-

lationdensityandtheconcentrationofwealthinthesetinyspotsontheglobein-

creasestheexposureofsuchplacestorisk.Nowadays,manypeopleareloudly

linkingnaturaldisasterstoclimatechange,andcitiesthathavebeenconsideredsafe

69

Abstract

TheTokyoMetropolitanAreaisknownasthelargestmetropolitanareainthe

world.ThecityhasbeenfacingseveredisastersliketheGreatKantoEarthquakein

1923,aswellasmoreroutinetyphoonsandfloods.Therehavebeensignificantlosses

causedbythesedisasters,however,becauseoftheirconsistency,riskmanagement

policieshaveaccumulatedovertime.ThecomplexdisasteronMarch11,2011caused

bytheGreatEastJapanEarthquake,andsubsequentlythetsunamianddamageto

theFukushimanuclearplant,gaveahugeimpactonTokyo,400kilometersaway

fromtheepicenter.However,Tokyoin2011offersussomevisiblesuccessofseveral

riskmanagementpoliciesthathavebeenrefinedoverthepastcentury.Ontheother

hand,fragilityhasbeenexposedparticularlytowhomrelyonthehighlydeveloped

urbaninfrastructureofthemega-city.Reviewingtheselessonslearntfrom the

eventsofMarch2011inTokyo,someimplicationstoenhancetheriskmanagement

policyaresought.OneoutlierisRoppongiHills,whichwasnotaffectedbythedisas-

teratallandbecameabasetoservefortheneighborhooduponthedisaster.While

RoppongiHillsprovidesseveralbestpracticelessons,itisarelativelysmallarea

comparedtothewholeMetropolitanRegion.Tounderstandthecurrentlevelofrisk

managementmeasuresfordisastersinTokyo,strengthsandweaknessesthatcorre-

spondtothefourstagesofcrisismanagementarepresented.Thisaimstobeatem-

platetoprovidereferencesinsettingtheriskmanagementpoliciesfortheemerging

mega-citiesespeciallyinAsia.

Keywords:GreatEastJapanEarthquake,urbanrisks,TokyoMetropolitanArea,

mega-city,riskmanagementpolicies

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities:LessonsfromTokyoonMarch11,2011

TakayukiKUBO

SeniorResearcher,TheFukuokaAsianUrbanResearchCenter

Lecturer,GraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudies,MeijiUniversity

hithertoareatrisk.Simultaneously,complexdisasters,suchasacombinationof

floods,plantaccidents,moralhazard,andpandemicdiseases,canbetriggeredbya

singlenaturaldisaster.Theemploymentofriskmanagementpoliciesthatareuni-

quetothemega-citiesseemstobeanurgentmatterasthegrowthofcitiesacceler-

ates.

TheGreaterTokyoArea,composedofthecapitalTokyoandthethreesurround-

ingprefecturesofKanagawa,Chiba,andSaitama,isknownasthelargestmetropoli-

tanareaintheworldwithapopulationof35millionandaGDPofUS$1,479billion.

Althoughmega-citesintheemergingcountriesareexpectedtoachievesignificant

growthinthecomingdecades,Tokyowillremaintopin2025bothintermsofits

population2anditsGDP.3 Domesticallyalso,Tokyoisdominant.Forexample,the

threeprefectures,Iwate,Miyagi,andFukushima,whichweremostaffectedbythe

GreatEastJapanEarthquake,makeup4% ofthenationalpopulationandthe

nation・sGDP,whiletheGreaterTokyoAreaaccountsfor28% ofthenationalpopu-

lationand32% ofthenation・sGDP.(Figure1)

Tokyo,formerlyknownas・Edo,・hasbeendevelopedasacapitalcitysince1590.

Thecitywasdesignedwithacastleatitscenterandwiththedowntowninacircle

aroundthecenter.Thisuniqueconcentricstructurehasbeenmaintainedintothe

modernperiod.Amoderninfrastructure,suchasrailwaysandhighways,islaidout

onthisurbanform,andtheaccuracyandsuccessfuloperationoftheseseamless

servicesallowpeopletolivetogetherinthishugecityandenjoyahighqualityof

life.Supportedbyamatureeconomyandadevelopedinfrastructure,Tokyoalso

enjoyshighexposureasatouristdestination,aswellasbeingaglobalcenterfor

innovation.Forinstance,itsoverallpositionintheGlobalPowerCityIndexhas

beenfourth,followingthethreeworldfamouscitiesofNew York,London,and

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities70

Figure1 ComparisonbetweenGreaterTokyoAreaand

SeriouslyDamaged3PrefecturesinTohoku

Paris.4 TokyonotonlyfunctionsanengineforJapan,italsoplaysacriticalroleas

aglobalhub.

TheGreatEastJapanEarthquakewasthelargestearthquaketohitTokyosince

theGreatKantoEarthquakein1923.Although,unfortunately,somecasualtieswere

reported,therewasalsoanopportunitytoexaminetheriskmanagementpolicies

thathadbeenputinplaceoverthedecadessincetheGreatKantoEarthquake.

ElaboratingonTokyo・ssuccessesandfailures,whichwererevealedwhilethecity

wascopingwiththeseriesofrisksthatweretriggeredbytheMarch11,2011event,

providesareferencefortheestablishmentofriskmanagementpoliciesintheemerg-

ingmega-citiesofAsia.

1.ThePhysicalDamagetoTokyofromtheEarthquake

CasualtiesandDamagetoProperty

ThecomplexdisasterduetotheearthquakeinNortheastJapanonMarch11,

2011,whichwasfollowedbyatsunamiandanuclearplantaccident,causedsome

damagetoTokyo.Thescaleofthecrisiscanbeimaginedwhenitiscomparedby

combiningthreedisastersintheUnitedStates,theSanFranciscoEarthquakeof

1906,HurricaneKatrinain2005,andtheThreeMileIslandnucleardisasterof1979.5

400kmawayfromtheepicenteroftheM9earthquake,thetremorincentralTokyo

wasmeasuredatlevel5+outofthe7levelsintheJapanMeteorologicalAgency・s

measurementsystem.6 WhiletheTohokuregionneartheepicenterrecordedlevel7,

whichisequivalenttothelevelinthecenterofKobecitybytheGreatHanshin-

AwajiEarthquakein1995,tremorsindowntownTokyowererelativelylow.None-

theless,aroundtenhousescollapsedandsevenpeoplewerekilledinthedowntown

areaofTokyo.Itisimportanttonotethatthelimitedamountofdamageconstitutes

animprovementontheseismicperformanceofTokyo・sbuildingssincetheGreat

Hanshin-AwajiEarthquakein1995.Also,therewerenocasualtiescausedbyfirein

Tokyowhilemorethanhalfthe100thousanddeathsintheGreatKantoEarthquake

werecausedbythequake-triggeredfires.Theintroductionanddistributionofthe

system・my-com-meter,・whichsensesaquakeandshutsdownthegassupplyineach

unitofaresidentialbuildinghelpedtopreventfires.

CommercialbuildingsinTokyowerenotseriouslydamagedbytheGreatEast

JapanEarthquakeeither.Forinstance,outof100propertiesmanagedbytheMori

BuildingCompany,whichisamajorpropertyholderandmanagerinTokyo,70were

damagedbythequake.However,mostoftherepairworkthatwasneededasa

resultwaslimitedtominorrepairstotheexteriororinteriorwallsandsurfacefin-

ishes.7

Whilemostofthecasualtiesresultedfrom thetsunamiintheTohokuregion,

Tokyowasnotaffectedbyatsunamithistime.ThehighestwaveatTokyo・s

Harumiwaterfrontwasreportedtobe1.5m.TheleveesalongtheTokyoshoreline

arefrom4.8mto8.0mhigh,andtheyaredesignedtowithstandthekindofflooding

thatcamewiththeIseBayTyphoonin1959,whichisknowntobeoneofJapan・s

worstpost-wardisasters.8

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 71

DamagetotheInfrastructure

Theimpactontheinfrastructure,suchasbridges,highways,andrailways,was

alsolessvisible.Thisreflectedtheworkdonetoreinforcetheinfrastructure,which

hadbeencarriedoutsince1995.Trainsystemsona30kmradiusfromthecenterof

Tokyostationsuspendedtheirserviceatonce,but40% recoveredwithintheday,

andthispercentagereached95% thenextday,afterdueinspectionshadbeencar-

riedout.9

Utilities,suchaselectricity,gas,andwatersupplies,werenotseriouslyaffected

bythequake.Theconventionalsteelgaspipesburiedundergroundhavebeenre-

placed withflexibleanddurablepolyethylenepipes.Waterpipeshavealsobeen

switchedtoaseismic-resistantsystem,sonoleakswerereportedthistime.Tokyo,

asofMarch11,2011,offersusvisiblesignsofthesuccessofseveralriskmanagement

policiesthathavebeenrefinedoverthepastcentury,andspecificallywithinthepast

15years.

However,eventhoughtherewerenocasualties,severesoilliquefactionwas

reportedintheTokyoBayarea,especiallyinChibaprefecture.Thetotalliquefied

areaapproached42squarekilometers,whichisthelargestareaofliquefaction

ever.10Asaresult,30housescollapsedandover1,000housesweredamagedinChiba.

ThemainreasonfortheliquefactionbeingconcentratedinChibawasthemethod

thathadbeenusedtoreclaimtheland.Toprotecttheenvironment,sandunderthe

baywasre-used,andthisresultedinanunstablefoundationforthereclaimedland.

Ontheotherhand,thereclaimedlandwherethegroundhadbeentreatedandim-

provedwiththesandcompactionpile(SCP)methodwasnotliquefied.Inresponse

tothe1964NiigataEarthquake,wherethecollapseofbuildingsduetoliquefaction

occurredinJapanforthefirsttime,theBuildingStandardsActwasamendedin1978

inordertoenforcegroundimprovementmethodsforlandreclamation,butmostof

theareasliquefiedinChibahadbeenestablishedbeforethisact.

2.Socio-EconomicIssuesExposedbytheEarthquake

StrandedPersons

Whilenomajorinfrastructuraldamageoccurredandthenumberofdeathswas

limited,Tokyoitesstillfacedseriousinconvenience.Thiswasparticularlysofor

thosewhorelyonthehighlydevelopedurbansysteminthecenterofthecity.

Theearthquakestruckataround3p.m.onFriday.Initially,peopleinoffices

andschoolsthoughttheycouldgohomeasusual.Tokyoisequippedwithoneofthe

mostsophisticatedtrainsystemsintheworld,andthissystemmaintainsagigantic

urbanstructurethatallows10millionpeopletocommutesystematicallyandevery

dayinandoutofthecityboundariesofTokyo.Rightafterthequake,allthelines

wereshutdownbecauseoftheneedtomonitorpossibledamagefrom thequake.

40% ofthelines,whichweremostlysubways,recoveredwithintheday,butthe

otherlinesstayeddownuntilthenextday.Thiscausedanunprecedentedphenome-

non,theoverflowofpeoplearoundthecity.Themajorterminals,suchasTokyo

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities72

StationandShinjukuStation,whichusuallyaccommodateover1.5millionpassen-

gerseachday,askedpeopletoleavethestations,whichclosedtheirshutters,and

thismeantthatpeoplethenhadnoplacetostay.

Consequently,peoplestartedtousethelinesthathadrestoredtheirserviceand

madedetours.Somepeoplewalkedseveralhoursbacktotheirhomes,othersbought

androdeabicyclehomeorgotpickedupinthefamilycar.Othersstillreturnedto

theiroffices,orstayedattherefugeareasthatweresetupatpublicfacilitiesand

shoppingcenters.Therewerenoriotsandthingsremainedorganized.However,the

linesofpeoplewalkingalongthesidewalksdidnotdisappearuntilthemorning.

(Image1)Thetotalnumberofstrandedpeopleisestimatedat3.52millionbythe

TokyoMetropolitanGovernment.11

Thisexperiencemadepeoplerealizetheriskoftheirdailylong-distancecom-

mute,andsincethiseventoccurredalifestyleoflivingquarters-workplaceproxim-

ityhasattractedpeople・sattention.Riskmanagementpoliciesaimedatstocking

foodsandsuppliesatofficesandschoolsinthecaseofanemergencyhavebeen

highlighted,andtheTokyoMetropolitanGovernmentenforcedanewordinanceto

securethesemeasuresinMarch2012.

UrbanThreatfromtheNuclearPlantAccident

Moreinconvenienceresultedfromtheaccidentatanuclearplant.Thiscaused

newhardshipsforTokyoites.ElectricityshortagesoccurredafterallJapan・snuclear

plantswereshutdown.Thisresultedinareducednumberoftrainsandshutoff

barrier-freefacilitiesinpublicspaces,suchastheescalators.Manyelderlypeople

andfamilieswithinfantsfoundtheiraccesstothecityrestricted.Thegovernment

orderedeachfamilytoreducetheiruseofelectricity,sopeopletriedtosaveenergy

byturningofflightsandbycarefullycontrollingthetemperatureoftheiraircondi-

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 73

Image1 StrandedPersonswalkingbackhome

Source:YomiuriShimbunNews

tioners.Peoplesufferedacertainamountofdiscomfortandstressasaconsequence.

Furthermore,therewasashortageofgeneralsupplies,withshelvesat・Convenient

Stores,・whichareusuallyfullofgroceries24hoursaday,becomingempty.Oneof

theworstproblemswasthepollutioncausedbytheirradiationofthetapwater.

Eventhoughofficialannouncementsregardingthepollutionlevelsdeclaredthat

theselevelshadnoaffectonthehumanbody,peoplerushedtostorestohoardbot-

tledwaterandthiscausedashortageofsuppliesforinfantsforwhomsuchwateris

essential.Assuch,thecomfortableurbanlifeofTokyoites,whichresultsfrom

dense,systematicandprogressiveurbanization,wasthreatened.Allthisinconven-

iencemadeTokyoiteslosetheirconfidenceaboutlivinginthelargestmega-cityin

theworld.

Thenuclearplantaccidentwasrepeatedlydescribedbygovernmentofficialsas

an・UnexpectedAccident.・However,afterithappened,peoplerecognizedthatthere

isnothing・Perfect・aboutman-madesystems.Figure2showsthelocationofthe

activenuclearplantsaroundthemajorcitiesrelativetothecenterofeachcity.

・GlobalCities,・withahighaccumulationoffunctionswithinthecity,shouldremem-

berthattheyarenottotallyfreeoftheriskofnuclearaccidents,eventhoughtheir

nuclearplantslieoutsidethecity・sboundaries.

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities74

Figure2 ActiveNuclearPlantLocationsrelativetoCityCentersofMajorGlobalCities

3.ImplicationsforRiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities

ModernSeismicPerformance

Thebreakthroughinimprovingtheseismicperformanceofbuildingswastrig-

geredbythe1978MiyagiEarthquakeinNortheastJapan.TheBuildingStandards

Actwasamendedduetotheseriouscollapseduringtheearthquakeofbuildings

witha・PilotiStyle・firstfloor,andstructuraldesigncriteriaweredramaticallytight-

ened.Followingthe1995GreatHanshin-AwajiEarthquake,theActforthePromo-

tionofRenovationforEarthquake-ResistantStructureswasimplemented,andin

2000theBuildingStandardsActwasamendedagaintointroduceperformance-based

designtobuildings.TheEarthquakeBuildingCodeScandalin200512alsoresultedin

theactsbecomingstricterregardingstructuraldesignwhenapeerchecksystem

andstrongerpenaltieswereintroduced.Inthisway,andasaresultoflessonslearnt

frompastexperience,seismicbuildingdesignstandardshaverapidlyimproved.In

the1995Hanshin-Awajiearthquake,24% ofthereinforcedconcretebuildingscon-

structedbeforethe1981amendmentcollapsedorwereseverelydamaged.Mostof

theolderbuildingsthatcollapsedwerebuiltunderpre-1981standardsorwere

woodenstructureswithoutsufficientearthquakeproofing,suchasadequatecross-

bracing.Nobuildingswithprefabricatedwallscollapsedinthe1995earthquake.13

CurrentlyinTokyo,80%oftheresidentialbuildingsand87%oftheelementaryand

juniorhighschoolsareearthquake-resistant14,butitishighlydesirablethatthe

remainingresidencesandschoolsbebroughtuptostandardassoonaspossible.

Meanwhile,theGreatEastJapanEarthquakeonMarch11testedtheseismic

performanceofthehigh-risebuildingsinTokyo,whicharerelativelyrecentinthe

historyofJapan・sconstructionindustry.IncentralTokyo,thereareapproximately

400high-risebuildingsthatareover100metershigh.15 Oneshakeofahigh-rise

buildingduringanearthquakeissaidtobeoflongduration.Thiscanresonatewith

along-termoscillationofbetween2and20seconds.Dampingdeviceswereproved

tobeeffectivebothinpreventingresonanceandinprotectingthebuildings.The

introductionofdampingtechnologytohigh-risebuildingsbecamepopularinthe

2000sinJapan,anditsinstallationinbuildingsisnowcriticalforseismicperform-

ance.The223-meter-highShinjukuCenterBuildingwasbuiltin1997andwasreno-

vatedin2009inordertoinstalldampingdevices.IntheMarch11quake,the

maximumdisplacementofthebuildingwas54cm,withthesedeviceslimitingthe

tremorofthebuildingby22%.16The238-meter-highRoppongiHillsMoriTowerwas

builtwithadampingsystemandthiswasshownonanalysistoreducethedisplace-

mentatthetopofthebuildingafterthequakebynearlyhalf.17 Infact,therewasno

damagereportedtoRoppongiHillsMoriToweraftertheMarch11quake,while

TokyoMetropolitanCityHallexperiencedsubstantialdamage,suchascollapsed

officeceilings.Consequently,thecityhallwasrenovatedinordertoinstalladamp-

ingsystem.

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 75

RedundantEnergySupply

TheGreatEastJapanEarthquakealsorevealedthevulnerabilityofTokyo・s

energysupplyinsuchanevent,becauseofplannedblackoutsandtherestrictionson

electricityusageinthesummer,bothofwhichwereorderedbythegovernmentfor

thefirsttimein37years.Aredundantsupplyofenergy,whichoffersalternative

energysourcesandproviders,hasbecomeimportantwhenitcomestomaintaining

amega-city・sabilitytocopewithadisaster.AtthetimeoftheMarch11quake,

RoppongiHillswastheonlycomplexwhichwasoperatingitsownpowerplantin

Tokyo.In1995,theElectricityBusinessActwasamendedtoenableprivatecompa-

nies,besidesthemajorelectricitycompanies,toproduceandsupplyelectricityfor

businesspurposes.UponthedevelopmentofRoppongiHills,theRoppongiEnergy

ServiceCompanywasestablishedtorunanexclusiveLNG(LiquefiedNaturalGas)

powerplanttosupplyelectricitytotheentireRoppongiHillscomplex.Sincethis

powerplantissustainedbygasfromtheTokyoGasCompany,itwasnotaffectedby

thepowerblackoutbytheTokyoElectricPowerCompanyaftertheearthquake.To

preservethisredundancy,RoppongiEnergyServicealsohasacontractwiththe

TokyoElectricPowerCompany,incaseofanemergency,inordertoreceiveelectric-

ity.However,aftertheMarch11earthquake,RoppongiEnergyServiceprovidedthe

residualelectricityofRoppongiHillstotheTokyoElectricPowerCompany.18

Sincetheearthquake,RoppongiHillshasattractedtheattentionofoverseas

corporationsespeciallybecauseofitsabilitytocarryonbusinessoperationsina

crisis.Learningthislesson,aspartofthepublicsector,theTokyoMetropolitan

Governmentinitiatedapolicytorealizearedundantenergysupply.Tokyohasbeen

relyingforabout80%ofitselectricityonproductionbasedoutsideTokyo,including

thenuclearplantsinFukushima.19 Toincreasethelevelofself-sufficiencyinenergy

becameaseriousissue,andthelocalgovernmentsoughttobuildanewLNGpower

plantintheTokyoBayarea.Theelectricityproducedbytheplantcouldbeabout

1millionKW,whichalmostequalstheenergyproducedbyonenuclearreactor.

Thisactionenhancedthecreationofacity-wideredundantelectricitysupplysys-

tem.

SafeUrbanBlocks

SincetheMarch11quake,thecontrastbetweensafeandunsafeplacesinTokyo

hasbecomeclear.Tokyoisacitythathasfeweropengreenspacesthanothermajor

globalcities.(Figure3)Itisalsorareinthatthetotalareaofopengreenspace

decreasesthefurtheronemovesoutfromthecenterofthecityintothesuburbs.

In1958,thegovernmentcreatedaplantointroducesustainableurbangrowthin

thenationalcapitalareabyreferringtotheGreaterLondonPlan.Thegovernment

triedtointroduceaGreenBeltaroundTokyo・scitycenter.However,thepolicywas

notproperlyimplementedduetooppositionfromtheland-ownersintheareasdesig-

natedtobepartoftheGreenBelt.Theseareaswereconsequentlydevelopedas

urbanareas.Intheend,thegovernmentgaveuptheideaofaGreenBeltandre-

movedthepolicywiththerevisionoftheNationalCapitalAreaMasterPlanin

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities76

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 77

Figure3 ComparisonofGreenOpenSpaceforTokyoandThreeMajorGlobalCities

Source:GlobalPowerInnerCityIndex2010,InstituteforUrbanStrategies,TheMori

MemorialFoundation

Figure4 NationalCapitalRegionMasterPlan(1958leftand1968right);

BlackzoneistheplannedGreenBelt

Source:NationalLandAgency

1968.20(Figure4)

Sincethen,Tokyohasbeendevelopedaggressivelywithnoattentionbeingpaid

tomaintainingopengreenspaces,whichareessentialfrom thepointofview of

disastermanagement.Opengreenspacesnotonlypreventfirefromspreadingbut

theyalsoserveasabaseforfightingfiresandforacceptingrefugees.Figure5

showsamapcreatedbytheTokyoMetropolitanGovernment,whichhighlightsthe

・Zonesexpectedtoreceivedetrimentaldamageinthecaseofadisaster.・Thetotal

areaofthesezonesis7,000ha,whichis11%ofthetotalareaformedbythe23wards

ofTokyo.1.8millionpeoplecurrentlyliveinthesezones,whichhavebarelyany

opengreenspaceandarecongestedwithwoodenhouses.Thesezonesarenotslums,

however.Infact,manyaremoderatelywealthy;therearejustnoincentivesfor

propertyownerstoredeveloptheneighborhood,includingtheirownproperties,to

createnewopenspacestomaketheirareasafe.

Meanwhile,thecentralareaofTokyocanbeseenfromthismaptobesafer.One

reasonisthattheredevelopmentofthecentralareaismoreadvancedthanthesub-

urbs.Since2002,UrbanRegenerationprojectshavebeencarriedoutasamatterof

nationalpolicy,andalotofnewmixed-usecomplexes,basedontowersandopen

spaces,haveemerged.RoppongiHillsinFigure6representsthisstyleofdevelop-

ment,andithasbeenfollowedbyothermega-complexes,suchasTokyoMid-Town.

Thesecomplexes,developedinthe2000s,clearlyappear,aftertheMarch11quake,to

besafer.Infact,RoppongiHillswasnotonlyunaffectedbytheearthquake,italso

accommodatedthousandsofrefugeeswhowerenotabletogohomebyproviding

amplestocksoffood,waterandblankets.Ashasbeenshown,whileRoppongiHills

canprovideseveralbestpracticelessons,andisthelargestprivatelybaseddevelop-

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities78

Figure5 ZonesExpectedtoreceiveDetrimentalDamageintheCaseofaDisaster

Source:HeadquartersoftheGovernorofTokyo,

TokyoMetropolitanGovernment

mentinTokyo,itcoversarelativelysmallarea,comparedtothatoftheentiremega-

cityregion.

ResilientGovernment,Communities,andIndividuals

TheMarch11earthquakewasnotan・unexpected・disasterforTokyo,even

thoughthemetropolisexperienceditslargesttremorsincetheGreatKantoEarth-

quake.Eventheappearanceofstrandedpeoplehadbeenpredicted,responses,such

asopeningupgovernmentfacilitiesandpublicschoolsforthosepeoplewhohad

beenstranded,waspromptlycarriedoutbygovernmentstaffs.Infact,manymeas-

uresintheplansandmanualsservedtoprovideresiliencetothecity.

TheBusinessContinuityPlan(BCP)fortheTokyoMetropolitanGovernment

maybeamongthemostsophisticatedintheworldintermsofitscountermeasures

intimesofdisaster.Theplandesignates1,061ofthegovernment・s2,884servicesas

apriorityintermsoftheprovisionofcontinuityinTokyo・sservicesandfacilities.

Itspecifiestargettimesfortherecoveryoftheseservicesafteranearthquake,taking

potentialunderstaffingintoconsideration. TokyohasalsocreatedthePost-

EarthquakeRecoveryManual,whichpresentsroadmapsforrecoveryforeachofits

districts,basedonthescaleofdamageexpected,andthecityannuallyholdsdisaster

drills,whicharetiedintothemanual.

Meanwhile,communitiescomplementgovernmenteffortsindisasterprepara-

tionthroughtheformulationofdistrictcontinuityplans(DCP).Businessesaround

TokyoStationhaveformedtheNeighborhoodCommunityAssociationaround

TokyoStationforDisasterManagement,whichseekstoaddressthechallenges

postedbytheexpectedstrandingof600thousandcommutersaroundthestation

afteralargeearthquakecenteredonTokyo.21Thesechallengescannotbetackledby

anysinglecompany,sotheassociation・snetworkaimstocopewithamajorquake

inacooperativeway.Theycaneffectivelygatherinformationonthesafetyof

individuals,guidecommuterswhoaretryingtowalkhome,distributefoodand

water,andperform othercrucialcommunitytasks.Theorganizationisthusan

exampleofputtingintopracticetheviewthatinadisaster,communityresilience,

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 79

Figure6 RoppongiHillsbefore(left)andafter(right)thedevelopment

Source:MoriBuilding

basedontheconceptsofself-helpandcooperation,ismoreeffectivethanwaitingfor

publicassistance.

Finally,eachindividualhastoberesilientandactresponsiblyduringadisaster.

AlongthecoastalareaintheTohokuregion,alegendhasbeenpassedonfrom

previousgenerationswhichinstructspeople,whenatsunamiarrives,toimmedi-

atelyescapefromthecoastwithoutglancinganywhereelsebutthehillsandnotto

careaboutotherpeople.Thismaysoundslightlybarbaric,buttheexpectationis

thateverybodycanfinallymeetonthehillifeveryonefollowedthisrule.Itisesti-

matedthattherewereabout500thousandpeopleinthetsunami-floodedareaatthe

timeoftheearthquakeonMarch11intheIwate,Miyagi,andFukushimaprefec-

tures,andthatthecasualtiestotaledapproximately20thousand.Iftherehadbeen

noexperiencewithtsunamis,includingfrequentevacuationdrills,thecasualtyfig-

urescouldhavebeenonedigitlarger.However,inamega-city,thesituationmight

beslightlydifferentbecauseofthehighpopulationdensity.Forinstance,rightafter

thequake,peoplerushedtothestationstoreachtheirhomesassoonaspossiblein

ordertoconfirm thesafetyoftheirfamilies.Asthestationswereshutdown,a

massivenumberofpeoplecouldnotfindtheirwayhomeandtheyoverflowedonto

theplazasandstreets,raisingthechanceofmoralhazards.Eveninthissituation,no

riotingorlootingtookplace.PeopleinTokyohavebeentrainedtosharespacein

congestedtrains,streets,andsidewalkssincetheperiodofhigheconomicgrowth

duringthe1970s.Thus,theexperienceandmoralityofeachindividual,especiallyin

denseurbanspaces,isimportantinadisasterifeveryoneistosurvive.Dailyprepar-

ednessfordisastersbycreatingresilientindividualsisaprimarymeasure.

Conclusion

RiskmanagementpoliciesinTokyohavebeenpolishedasaresultofitsrecord

ofdisastersinhistory.However,theGreatEastJapanEarthquakeonMarch11,2011

provedthatthesepolicieswerenotsufficient.Forecastsshowthatthereisa70%

chanceofagreatearthquakeoccurringinornearTokyowithinthenext30

years.22 Therefore,justlikeaftertheearthquakein1995,urbansystemsneedto

continuetoimplementriskmanagementpolicies.

Tounderstandthecurrentlevelofriskmanagementmeasuresfordisastersin

Tokyo,Figure7hasbeencreatedtoeasilyidentifystrengthsandweaknessesthat

correspondtothefourstagesofcrisismanagement:Mitigation,Preparedness,Re-

sponse,andRecovery.23 Tokyo・sstrengthscanbeseeninitshighdesignstandards

regardingseismicandfireperformance,whicharephysicalaspects,togetherwith

thewell-organizedTokyo・sBusinessContinuityPlanandthePostEarthquakeRe-

coveryManual,whichrepresentcertainoperationalaspects.Ontheotherhand,the

weaknesses,suchastheexistenceofthecongestedwoodenhousezones,whichre-

sultinthelackofopenspaceforegressandfirefighting,areclearlynegativefactors.

Toproperlycopewiththenextearthquake,eventhoughthetimingofthatearth-

quakeisuncertain,policiestoconfronttheseweaknessesandchangethem into

strengthsshouldbeimplemented.Inparticular,theredevelopmentofthezones

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities80

wheredetrimentaldamageinadisastercanbeexpected,asdesignatedbytheTokyo

MetropolitanGovernment,isanurgentmeasurethatneedstobeimplementedas

soonaspossible.WithintheentireTokyoregion,thecitycenterisrelativelysafe,

but,sincemostofthenation・scentralfunctions,suchasitsparliament,itsministries,

andtheheadofficesofitsmajorcompaniesareconcentratedinthecentralcore,the

levelofsafetyshouldbefurtherenhanced.Oncetherewasanargumenttorelocate

thecapital・sfunctionstootherregionsoutsideTokyo.However,thishasnotbeen

realizedafterstudiescomparedtheoverallbenefitsagainstallthedisadvantages

thatwouldresultfromsucharelocation.Infact,ithasbeenrecognizedthatthere

isnoplacethatis100%freefromanearthquakeevenifearthquakeengineeringhas

maderemarkableprogressinrecenttimes.Tokyohasnochoicebuttosquarelyface

thechallengespresentedbytheworld・slargestmetropolisanditsmassiveconglom-

erationofpeople,communities,businesses,andinfrastructure.24 TheJapaneseGov-

ernmentdecidedtointroducenew・SpecialZones・incentralTokyotoaccelerate

urbanregenerationtomitigatefuturedisasterrisksandtoprovideinternational

urbanplatformsthatcanattractpeople,companies,andinvestmentinordertosus-

tainthezones.25(Figure8)Thesezonesareexpectedtobemodelsthatshowcasea

livableurbanenvironmentwitharobustinfrastructure.

Therearemanyimportantlessonstobelearntfrom TokyobyotherAsian

mega-cities.UnderstandingthatTokyoisstilldevelopingitsriskmanagement

measures,eachcity・sriskmanagementmeasurescanbereviewedusingthefour

categoriesaboveandtheleveloftheirperformancecouldbecomparedwith

Tokyo・s.Comparativeanalysiswillrevealthestrengthorweaknessofeachmeas-

ure,andthenpeoplecandiscusswhatpoliciesshouldbeimplementedasaresult.

Thescopeofriskmanagementincitiesseemstobeexpandingthesedayswith

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 81

Figure7 StrengthsandWeaknessesoftheRiskManagementMeasurescorrespondingtotheFourStagesofCrisisManagement

theattentionbeinggiventoglobalclimatechangeanddiversesocialconflicts.Since

themega-citiesarefrequentlyregardedasthemajorurbanplatformsforsustaining

theworld・seconomyoverthenextfew decades,contemporaryriskmanagement

policiesneedtobeupdatedprogressivelysincewearelocatedinaplaceinwhichwe

co-existwithdisasters.

Theauthordevelopedthispaperbasedontheresearchpresentedas・Whatkindofim-

pactdidtheGreatEastJapanDisasterhaveonTokyo?・inJune,2011,atthe・G-SECEmer-

gentForum,・whichwasheldbytheGlobalSecurityResearchInstituteatKeioUniversity.

TheauthorwouldliketothankProfessorHeizoTakenaka,whoinvitedtheauthortothe

forumasapresenter,andtheparticipantswhoprovidedmultiplefeedbackonthepresenta-

tion.Theauthorfurtherdevelopedtheresearchandpresentedtheresultsas・RiskManage-

mentinMega-Cities:LessonsfromTokyoonMarch11,2011・atthe23rdPacificConference

oftheRegionalScienceAssociationInternational(RSAI)inJuly,2012,intheDisasterMan-

agementsession,atwhichtheauthorwasalsoadiscussant.Theauthorisgratefultothe

sessionchairProfessorHarlanDimasatPadjadjaranUniversityandotherparticipantsfor

theircomments,whicharereflectedinthispaper.Theauthoralsowishestoexpresshis

appreciationtoProfessorHirooIchikawaatMeijiUniversityandProfessorAkiraYamasaki

atChuoUniversityfortheirunfailingsupportintheproductionofthispaper.

RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities82

Acknowledgements

Figure8 ComprehensiveSpecialZoneAreadesignatedbytheNationalGovernmentandTokyoMetropolitanGovernment

Source:HeadquartersoftheGovernorofTokyo,TokyoMetropolitanGovernment

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RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities 83

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RiskManagementPoliciesforMega-Cities84

References

1.Introduction

Smallandmedium enterprises(SME)accountfor99.5percentofallJapanese

companies.1 WetendtothinkoflargecompaniessuchasSonyandPanasonicas

representativeofJapanesebusinesses,but,infact,suchnamebrandsaresupported

bySMEs.Despitetheirsize,manyJapaneseSMEshavealonghistory,withsome

deliberatelystayingsmalltomaintainmanageabilityandenjoyingsolidperform-

ance.SuchfeatureshaveallowedmanyJapaneseSMEstoadeptlyovercomenumer-

ouseconomicupheavals,suchastheoilcrisesofthe1970sandthecollapseof

LehmanBrothersin2008.2 Someofthewell-knownfeaturesofJapanese-styleman-

agementincludesuchmovementsas・5S・and・Kaizen(improvement),・3whichare

quality-managementinitiativesbasedontheuniquelyJapanesemanufacturingcul-

ture,butlessknownisthefactthatmanyleadingSMEsemploymanagementac-

counting. Even smallJapanesebusinessesmakeactiveuseofmanagement

accountingintheirbusinessdecisions.Inthisstudy,wewilllookat・fixedrevenue

accounting,・anewstyleofmanagementaccountingdevelopedinJapan,andlookat

howaJapaneseSMEusesthisaccountingtool.

Fixedrevenueaccountingisaformofmanagementaccountingcenteredonthe

ideathatacompanyisoperatingstablywhenitsfixedcostsarecoveredwithreve-

nuesfromregularcustomers.Infixedrevenueaccounting,theprofitwhereacom-

panycoversitsfixedcostswithregularrevenuesisreferredtoasfixedoperating

profit(Asada,Suzuki,&Kawano,2005,pp.3�8).Putsimply,ifabusinesscancover

itsfixedcosts,suchassalariesandofficerents,withtherevenuesitgeneratesfrom

astable,repeatcustomerbase,thecompanyisnotlikelytogobankrupteasily.

Fixedrevenueaccountingisanewmanagementaccountingtoolthatmakesthis

85

Contents

1.Introduction

2.Customerandproductsegments

3.Researchdesign

4.Outcomeofresearchandanalysis

5.Conclusion

AStudyofManagementStyleof

・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・:FromtheViewof・FixedAccountingSystem・

HiromuneIshii,Ph.D.(B.A.)

Lecturer

GraduateSchoolofGlobalBusiness

MeijiUniversity

conceptmeasurable,visibleandcommunicable.Therearemanymanagementac-

countingmodels,4buttheprominentcharacteristicoffixedrevenueaccountingis

thatprofitabilitycanbegaugedintermsofthecustomerrelationshipsthatacom-

panyhas.Bycontrast,conventionalmanagementaccountingconceptsmostcom-

monlymeasureprofitabilityfromthevolumeofsalesorthenumberofunitssold.

Forexample,inthewidelyknowncost-volume-profit(CVP)analysis,agraphsimi-

lartotheoneinChart1�1isused,wheretheYaxisrepresentsrevenuesandcosts

andtheXaxisrepresentssalesvolumeorunitssoldinordertoarriveatthebreak-

evenpoint(BEP)representedbyP2.However,inChart1�2,whichillustratesfixed

revenueaccounting,theXaxisisdividedintopartsrepresentingsalesfromdiscrete

customersegments.Also,fixedrevenueaccountingpayscloseattentiontoP1,focus-

ingonfixedoperatingprofitwheresalesfromregularcustomerscoverfixedcosts,

whileP1ishardlyamatterofdiscussioninCVPanalysis.Inotherwords,fixed

revenueaccountingisbuiltonthehypothesisthatacompanycanstabilizeitsbusi-

nessoperationsbyachievingafixedoperatingprofitatthebreak-evenpointrepre-

sentedbyP1.Thisisthefundamentalprincipleoffixedrevenueaccounting.

Inordertoconsistentlyachievethebreak-evenprofitofP1,acompanyneedsto

increasethenumberofitsregularcustomers,asshownontheXaxisinChart1�2.

Giventhatcustomersaretheonlysourceofrevenue,itgoeswithoutsayingthatthe

veryfoundationofcorporatestrategyisthetirelessefforttoacquirenewcustomers

andturningsuchcustomersintoastable,regularclientbase.Theconceptoffixed

revenueaccountingaimsnotonlytomeasureprofitabilitybutalsolookstostabilize

businessoperationsthroughincentivestocreatenewcustomersandtoturnsuch

customersintoregularcustomers.Fixedrevenueaccountingworkstowardthe

creationofcustomersandtheexpansionofregularclientele.Thisconceptiscom-

patiblewithaquotefromPeterF.Drucker(2001,p.15):・Thepurposeofbusinessis

tocreateandkeepacustomer.・

Today,thebusinessclimateinJapanisbecomingincreasinglysevere,andthere

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・86

Chart1�1 CVPAnalysis

Chartsbytheauthor

Chart1�2 FixedRevenueAccounting

isnoendofseriouschallengesfacingJapanesecompanies.Domestically,thereare

theproblemsofthelosttwodecadesafterthecollapseofthebubbleeconomy,the

hollowingoutofindustriesamidintensifyingglobalcompetitionandthewildfluc-

tuationsofcurrencyexchangerates.Andtheoutlookoftheworldeconomyhas

remaineduncertainsincetheallbutunprecedentedturmoilfollowingthecollapseof

LehmanBrothersandtheEuropeandebtcrisis.Onthepoliticalfront,therearetrade

issuesarisingfromterritorialdisputes,andmajornaturaldisasters,suchastheGreat

EastJapanEarthquakeandwidespreadfloodinginThailand,dealtaheavyblowto

alreadyweakenedcorporateearnings.Undersuchharshcircumstances,theelec-

tronicsindustryremainsparticularlysluggishandfindsitselfinastateofdisarray.

Thedramaticdeclineincompetitivenessandstaggeringlossesincurredbymajor

Japaneseelectronicsfirms,whichhavelongbeenthemaindriveroftheJapanese

economy,servesasastarksymbolofthedifficultiesconfrontingJapanesecompa-

niestoday.CompanyA,whichwewilllookatinthisstudy,isanelectronicsfirmin

thethickofsuchdifficulties.ItisalsoanSME,andasasmallbusinesswithaweak

capitalbase,itgoeswithoutsayingthatthecompanyfindsitselfinaverytough

businessenvironment.

Nevertheless,CompanyAhasovercomenumerouschallengesusingfixedreve-

nueaccounting,constantlypostingpositiveoperatingincomeswiththeexceptionof

theyearthatsawthedemiseofLehmanBrothers.JusthowisCompanyAemploy-

ingfixedrevenueaccountinginitsbusinessoperations?Inthepresenceofmany

uncertainparameters,ifthereisoneformofmanagementaccountingevensugges-

tiveofapositiveimpactoncorporateprofitabilityandgrowth,thenitisworth

takingacloselookat.Inthisstudy,wewillexaminehowfixedrevenueaccounting

caninfluenceperformancefromtheviewpointoftheprofitabilityofCompanyA,a

businessthatpracticesfixedrevenueaccounting.

InChapter2,wewilllookatCompanyA・scustomersegmentsandproductseg-

ments.Infixedrevenueaccounting,definingsegments,meaningcustomersare

brokendownintonew,regular,non-regularandlost,andproductsarecategorized

accordingtothecompany・sbusinessdemarcation,isthebasisforanyfurtherdiscus-

sion.InoutliningsuchsegmentsitisnecessarytoshedlightonthehistoryofCom-

panyAandthebackgroundofitsmovetointroducefixedrevenueaccounting.In

Chapter3,wewilldiscussthestudy・sresearchdesign.Researchquestions,research

methods,researchsite,andresearchdatawillbedescribed.InChapter4,wewill

lookattheoutcomeofprofitabilityanalysisinaccordancewiththenew,regular,

non-regularandlostcustomersegmentsofCompanyA,madeavailablebytenyears

ofdatatakenfromthecompany・stransactionswith845customers.InChapter5,I

willsummarizethefindingsfromabove,anddiscussthestudy・soutcome,limitsand

issues.

2.Customerandproductsegments

Inthischapter,wewilllookathowCompanyAdefinesitscustomerandprod-

uctsegments.Infixedrevenueaccounting,theclientbaseisbrokendownintonew

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 87

customers,regularcustomers,non-regularcustomersandlostcustomers,upon

whichprofitfiguresarecomputedseparatelywithaviewtodeterminingtheprofit-

abilityofeachsegment.Withoutpropersegmentation,fixedrevenueaccountingas

ameasureofprofitabilitydoesnotfunction.Defininganddeterminingcustomer

segmentationistheveryfirststepinfixedrevenueaccountingandaveryimportant

procedureindeed.Meanwhile,productsareseparatedaccordingtothecompany・s

productlinesanditisrelativelysimpletodeterminethesegmentationcompared

withcustomers.Usually,productsarecategorizedinaccordancewiththeirmakers,

marketsandintendeduses,andindividualproductlinesaresortedbysalesvolume

orprofitabilitywithineachsegment.Thepracticeofproductsegmentationalso

helpsusunderstandwhatthecompany・scorebusinessis.

Ascanbeseenhere,definingcustomersegmentsandproductsegmentsisa

crucialstepinfixedrevenueaccounting,butdeterminingthesegmentsofacom-

panyaloneisnotenough.Itisequallyasimportanttoknowwhythecompanycame

upwiththesegmentation.Inordertostudyacompanyinamoreappropriateway,

weneedtolookintoitshistoryandindustrycharacteristicsaswellastheback-

groundtoitsdecisiontoadoptfixedrevenueaccounting.Weneedtounderstand

thesamplecompany・scustomerandproductsegments,andanalyzeitsprofitability

andgrowthpotentialbasedonsuchunderstanding.

2�1 Industryandbusinessoverview

Thetargetofthisstudy,CompanyA,iswhatisknownasaspecializedtrading

company,oratradingcompanythatdealsinelectroniccomponentswithanempha-

sisonsemiconductors.Inrecentyears,however,ithasalsooperatedamakerdivi-

sionengagedindesigningandmanufacturingelectroniccomponents,inadditionto

theoriginaltradingdivision.Itsannualsalesonastand-alonebasisamountto5

billionyen,andto7billionyenonagroup-widebasis.CompanyAwasestablished

in1979asatradingarmofCompanyS,amanufacturerofsemiconductors,andfor

manyyearsmainlydistributedCompanyS・ssemiconductorstospecificdomestic

customers.Itsmainproductsincludediodes,transistorsandMOSFET5andother

devices.

Inthewakeofthelate1970soilcrisistriggeredbyturmoilintheMiddleEast,

thefollowing1980ssawconsumer-marketproductssuchasTVsandVCRsbecome

increasinglyinclinedtowardenergyefficiency,andelectroniccomponentsusedin

thoseproductsbecamethinnerandsmallerwithsemiconductorsbeingthemainstay

ofsuchcomponents.Later,similartrendsoccurredwithwhitegoodssuchasrefrig-

eratorsandairconditioners,andsemiconductors,withtheirinstrumentalrolein

enablingenhancedenergyefficiency,cametobecalled・thericeofindustry,・mean-

ingtheywerenowtheverystapleoftheJapanesemanufacturingindustry.Further,

semiconductorsmadetheirwayintoautomobilecontrolsystems,and,inthe1990s,

becameaninvinciblepresenceassemiconductor-loadedpersonalcomputersspread

amongthepublic.Withsuchtrends,semiconductor-specializedtradingcompanies

establishedthemselvesasarelativelystablebusinesssector,thankstotheallbut

guaranteedclientbasefromtheirassociationwithasemiconductormanufacturer.6

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・88

Manysemiconductormakersformedcontractualrelationshipswithspecifictrading

companies,wherethelatterwouldactasdealersoragents,thusensuringastable

supplyofproductsandinreturnmaintainingcontroloverpricing.Thesemiconduc-

tormakersweremakinguseofwhatisknownastheinventoryholdingfunctionof

tradingfirmstomaintaintheirsalesnetwork.

However,startinginthemid-1990s,makersfromSouthKorea,Taiwanandother

emergingcountriesbegantoerodetheJapanesemakers・strongholdintheworld

marketsharewiththeircostleadershipstrategy.Inthemeantime,theJapanese

workforcehadlongpassedtheso-calledLewisianturningpoint7andlaborcosts

werestuckathighlevels,andithadbecomedifficulttoreducemanufacturingcosts.

Itwasatthispointwhensemiconductormanufacturingequipmentincreasingly

becamecommoditized,makingitpossibletoproducesemiconductorsofequalqual-

ityinanycountry,andthisledtoadramaticdeclineinprices.Italsocoincidedwith

thestrengtheningoftheyen,andsemiconductormakersrapidlylostinternational

competitiveness.Inthesamevein,manyassemblymakersofapplianceslikeTVs

andrefrigeratorsthatusesemiconductorsstartedshiftingproductiontocountries

withlowlaborcosts,suchasASEANcountriesandChina,inresponsetoglobalized

competition,andtheJapanesemanufacturingindustryincreasinglyhollowedoutin

theearly2000s.

Itwasundersuchcircumstancesthat,in2003,twogiants,HitachiLtd.and

MitsubishiElectricCorporation,integratedtheirsemiconductoroperationsandes-

tablishedRenesasTechnologyCorp.Later,RenesasTechnologymergedwithNEC

ElectronicsCorporationtoformRenesasElectronicsCorporation,whichcametobe

calledthe・hinomaru・semiconductormakeraftertheJapanesenationalflag.But

eventhemergerofthreemajordomesticmakersdidnotreversethedeclineincom-

petitiveness,andthenewcompanypostedanetlossof62.6billionyeninthebusi-

nessyearendinginMarch2012.Inasimilarcase,ElpidaMemoryInc.,originally

createdfrom the1999mergeroftheDRAM8operationsofHitachiLtd.andNEC

Corporation,facedaseriousfinancialcrisisin2009andwasbailedoutbytheMinis-

tryofEconomy,TechnologyandIndustry.Thecompanycontinuedtosufferlack-

lusterperformanceandfiledforprotectionundertheCorporateReorganizationAct

in2012,withanoutstandingdebtexceeding448billionyen.

ThedrasticchangeinJapan・sindustrialstructurehadanimpactnotonlyon

semiconductormakersbutalsoonsemiconductor-specializedtradingcompanies.

Duetothemergersofsemiconductormakers,suchtradingfirmswerefacedwith

suddenchangesintheirsuppliersandweredeprivedoftheirguaranteedpositionin

thedistributionchannels.Morethanafewtradingcompanieslosttheirplaceinthe

marketandeventuallywentoutofbusiness.Tomakemattersworse,assembly

makersshiftedtheirproductionbasesoverseasindrovesandincreasinglyused

semiconductorsproducedbyoverseasmakers,suchasKoreanandTaiwanese

brands,aspartoftheircost-cuttingefforts.Moreover,adrasticchangeoccurredin

thedistributionchannelsasassemblymakersmadeexpandeduseofSupplyChain

Management(SCM)9andincreasinglypurchasedcomponentsdirectlyfrommakers.

Simplyput,therewasnoplacefortradingcompanies.

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 89

Semiconductormakerslostinternationalcompetitiveness.Theirintegration

causeddrasticchangesinthedistributionchannels.Assemblymakersbecamerap-

idlyglobalized,shiftingproductionoverseas.Caughtinthemidstofsuchdrastic

changes,bothonthesupplierandcustomerends,semiconductortradingcompanies

facedrapidlydwindlingprofitsandaweakenedraison-d・etreastheirprimaryfunc-

tionasinventoryholderscametoanend.Theauthor・sMAthesis(2004)titled

・CoreBusinessofSemiconductorTradingCompaniesandtheirFinancialPerform-

ance・categorizedthechangingprofilesofsuchcompanies・coreoperationsasfol-

lows:thefirstgeneration,conventionaltradingfirmsasinventoryholders;thesec-

ondgeneration,tradingfirmswhichalsodesignsemiconductorsontheirown;and

thethirdgeneration,tradingfirmswhichperform manufacturingfunctionsusing

electronicsmanufacturingservices(EMS)10ormakingtheirownbrandofcompo-

nents.Thethesiscomparedthefinancialstandingofthefirst-generationfirmswith

thesecond-generationandthird-generationfirms,anddemonstratedthatconditions

ofthelatterweregenerallysuperiortothoseoftheformer.Itforetoldthatsemicon-

ductortradingcompanieswouldfinditdifficulttosustaintheiroperationsunless

theysucceededinflexiblytransformingtheircorebusinessstructuresinafiercely

competitivemarket.

Asiftodemonstratethehypothesisputforwardintheauthor・s2004thesis,

CompanyAtransformeditscorebusinessfrom thefirst-generationmodeltothe

third-generationmodel.Withaviewtosurvival,thecompanylaunchedin2002a

strategytoshiftitsbusinessmodelfromatradingfirm・stoacomponentmaker・s.

In2002,itestablishedadesignandmanufacturingdivisionforpowersupplies11and

anoverseassubsidiaryinHongKong,andstartedupamakerofspecialoptical

componentsasagroupfirm.In2006,itfoundedasubsidiarymakerofspecialinduc-

torparts,thussteppingupitsmanufacturingfunction,besidesitstradingfirmca-

pacity,inthecourseoffiveyears.12 Itmadeaconsciousmovetoconcentrateits

managementresourcesintomanufacturingfunctionsinsteadofitstraditionaltrad-

ing.Asaresult,CompanyAisrecognizedinthemarkettodayasnotonlyatrading

companybutalsoanelectronicdevicemaker.

2�2 Backgroundtotheadoptionoffixedrevenueaccounting

AsCompanyAtransformeditselffrom asemiconductortradingfirm intoan

electroniccomponentmaker,themovenecessitatedareinforcementofitsbusiness

strategytowithstandtheresultantchanges.Thecompanybelievedthatitssuccess

restednotonasimpleexpansionofitsbusinessarenabutonstrengtheningitsman-

agementbase,orconstructingmanagementcontrolforitsstrategicaims.In2004,in

amoveemulatingWesternbusinessstrategyconcepts,CompanyAformulatedthe

managementprinciples,visionandstrategyuponwhichtobaseitsmanagement

control,andbuiltasystem forbudgeting,profitplanningandbudgetvariance

analysis,withanaim toquantifyitsbusinessstrategymeasuresoverathree-year

periodbasedonamedium-termbusinessplan.Atthesametime,undertheslogan

of・Forthecustomers,・CompanyAestablishedanewmarketingfunctionwhereit

analyzedproductsandmarketsbySWOTand4Pmethods13andclarifieditstarget

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・90

customerstopromoteitsnewproprietaryproducts.Allthesemeasureswereessen-

tialelementsinmanagementcontrol,butCompanyAhadyettoaddressthem.Ina

movetosolidifythefoundationofitsmanagementcontrol,CompanyAestablished

codesofcorporateconductforcompliancewithethicalstandardsandlaws,some-

thingparalleltoacompanyconstitution,andcreatedproductqualitymanagement

manualspursuanttoISO9000andenvironmentmanagementsystemspursuantto

ISO14000,guidelinescorrespondingtolawsandregulations.Inordertofurther

improvemanagementefficiency,itcarriedoutathoroughimplementationofration-

alization,streamlining,andKaizenand5Sinitiativesregardingitsinternalprocesses

throughareviewofthevaluechain,thusachievingimprovedproductivityanda

significantreductioninoverheadcosts.

Alongwithmanagementcontrol,CompanyAreformeditsorganizationalstruc-

turefromahierarchicalstyletoaflatterstructureandintroducedcorporatesocial

responsibility(CSR)programs,suchascommunitycleaningactivities,donationsto

areasaffectedbydisasters,andstudentinternships.Inordertoboostcustomer

satisfaction(CS),thecompanyintroducedaweb-basedschemetorespondtoinquir-

iesaroundtheclock.Toenhanceemployeesatisfaction(ES),itstartedpayingfull

salariestoemployeesonmaternityleaveuptoayearandahalfaftergivingbirth

andprovidinganallowanceof20,000yenforeverychilduptosixyearsold.Asa

wayofprovidingtrainingandself-improvementopportunitiestoemployees,ites-

tablishedanin-housecollegeandintroducedascholarshipprogram.CompanyA

alsoimplementedaseriesofstrategic,tacticalandsupportivemeasures.Manyof

suchmeasuresworkedtoenhancetherelativequality,costs,deliverytimesand

developmentcapacity,knownasQCDD,ofCompanyA.Inotherwords,theadoption

ofmanagementcontrolenabledCompanyAtodifferentiateitsproductsinthemar-

ketandultimatelyhelpedtoimprovethecompany・smanagementquality.Andsuch

avirtuouscycleledtoinnovationasseeninthedevelopmentofspecialspherical

transformers,apatentedproductwhichCompanyAdevelopedtodifferentiateitself

asacomponentmaker.

However,howcansuchabusinessstrategycenteredonmanagementcontrolbe

showntohavebeeneffectiveforCompanyAanditsbidtoincreasecompanyvalue?

Anon-financialconceptlikemanagementcontrolaloneisinadequatewhendiscuss-

ingtheeffectivenessofabusinessstrategy,hencetheneedtomeasureandanalyze

accounting-baseddatatogaugewhetherornotmanagementcontrolhasbeenappro-

priatelyapplied.Asdescribedearlier,CompanyAlaunchednewoperationsin2002

andintroducedmanagementcontrolin2004.However,thecompanywasnotcapa-

bleofmeasuringtheeffectivenessofitsmanagementcontrolwithfinancialdata.It

waspossibletocomputefinancialratios,suchasROAandROI,from itsannual

reports,butsuchfiguresprovidedonlyfinancialaccountingperspectives.Inorder

toprojectfutureearningsanddevelopmanagementstrategies,therehadtobeanew

managementaccountingschemethatwentbeyondbudgeting,profitplanningand

budgetvarianceanalyses.In2006,CompanyAadoptedfixedrevenueaccounting,a

managementaccountingmodelthatmadeitpossibletoassessthecompany・sprofit-

abilityandgrowthpotentialfromtheperspectiveofcustomerrelationships.

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 91

Asada,Suzuki,andKawano(2005,p.4)referredtothepracticeofplacingfixed

revenueaccountingatthecenterofmanagementcontrolasfixedrevenuemanage-

mentanddefineditasfollows:・Fixedrevenuemanagementisastyleofmanage-

mentwhereastrategyfoundedonestablishingcustomerrelationshipsiscarriedout

inaplannedmanner,andprogressisevaluatedbasedonamanagementaccounting

system.・Asaresult,fixedrevenueaccountingworkedtoenhancecustomerrelations

andhelpedboostfinancialstability,safetyandgrowthpotentialforcompanies

(Asadaetal.,2005,pp.7�16).Withoutadoubt,CompanyAclearlycarriedoutfixed

revenuemanagement.

2�3 Definitionofcustomerandproductsegments

SakiandSuzuki(2012,p.25)describedtheconceptofcustomersegmentsas

follows:Newcustomersarethosewithwhichacompanyhasnewlystarteddoing

businesswithinapre-definedperiodoftime;regularcustomersarethosewithwhich

acompanyconductsbusinesswithacertainlevelofregularity;non-regularcustom-

ersarethosewhichlackacertainlevelofregularity;andlostcustomersarethose

whichhaveceasedbringinganybusiness.Thesearethelargercategoriesinfixed

revenueaccounting,andeachcompanyneedstodetermineitsowndetailedcriteria

forsegmentingcustomers.

WewillbeginbylookingatCompanyA・sdefinitionofnewcustomers.Com-

panyAdefinednewcustomersasthosewithinthreeyearsofthefirsttransaction

withCompanyA,andbroughtbusinessonaregularbasis.Thecompanydefined

・regular・asdoingatleastonetransactionperyearinthecourseofthosethreeyears.

Threeyearswasmadethethresholdfornewcustomersduetothelengthoftheco

mpany・smedium-term businessplanthatspannedthreeyears,andthecompany

viewedcustomersnotforeseenatthetimeofformulatingthebusinessplanasnew

customers.Customerswhichcontinuedtodobusinessfromthefourthyearonward

wereregardedeitherasnon-regularorregularcustomers,andlostcustomersthat

returnedwereregardedasnewcustomers.

Nextwewilllookatthedistinctionbetweenregularcustomersandnon-regular

customers.Generally,regularcustomersareconsideredthosewhichbringregular

businessduringacertainperiodoftimeandprovideacertainlevelofsalesorprof-

its.CompanyAdefinedregularcustomersasthoseacquiredthroughitsownmar-

ketingefforts,hadbroughtbusinessonaregularbasisforthreeyearsorlonger,and

continuedtoconductatleastonetransactionayear.Thenthequestionarises:Ifa

customerbringsbusinessonlyonceayearandprovidesonlyamodestlevelofsales

orprofits,doesitreallydeservetobeclassifiedaregularcustomer?Ifacustomer

canbereliedondoingbusinessonceayear,doesitmeritbeingdefinedaregular

customer?ThequestionisnotuniquetoCompanyA,butisacommonproblemin

determiningcustomerclassificationsforfixedrevenueaccounting.Todealwith

thisproblem,CompanyAdividedregularcustomersintoregularcustomers(a)and

regularcustomers(b).Regularcustomers(a)werethosefromwhichCompanyA

madegrossprofitmarginsaboveitstarget,andregularcustomers(b)werethose

from whichitmadegrossprofitmarginsbelowtarget.Simplyput,itwasadis-

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・92

tinctionbasedonwhethercustomersboughthighorlow.

Also,CompanyAappliedthenon-regularclassificationtocustomerswhichhad

donebusinessregularlyforthreeyearsandwereinthefourthyearorlater.Gener-

ally,non-regularcustomersareregardedasthosewhichbringbusinessonacontinu-

ousbasis,butprovidesalesorprofitsornumberoftransactionsthatarerelatively

modest.InthecaseofCompanyA,itderiveditsdistinctionfromindustry-specific

thinking.Intheelectroniccomponentindustry,itisacommonpracticethatsemi-

conductormakerstakechargeofmarketingandconsigntransactionaloperationsto

tradingfirms.Thereasonsvaryfromcreditmanagementtotheinventoryholding

functionoftradingcompanies,butsuchcasescannotbeconsideredascustomers

acquiredthroughtradingcompanies・ownmarketingefforts.CompanyAclassified

suchcasesasnon-regularcustomers.14

Lastly,wewilllookatthedefinitionoflostcustomers.Lostcustomersare,in

principle,thosewhichhavecompletelystoppedbringinganybusiness.Theques-

tionishowlongdoesacustomerstayinactivebeforeitiscategorizedalostcus-

tomer?Dependingontheindustry,thisperiodcanbeaslongasthreeyears.Inthe

caseofCompanyA,customerswithnoactivityforoneyearwereregardedaslost

customers.Whethernew,non-regularorregular,ifacustomerwastotallyinactive

inthecourseofabusinessyear,itbecamealostcustomer.Thedefinitionalsoap-

pliedtocaseswherethecustomerceasedoperationduetobankruptcyorothersimi-

larreasons.15 Table2�1summarizesthecustomercategorizationdefinitionsapplied

byCompanyA.

Andnow,wewilllookatCompanyA・sproductsegmentation.CompanyA

divideditsproductsintofivesegments.ThefirstwasproductsbySemiconductor

MakerS,themajorsupplierinCompanyA・stradingcompanydivision.Thereason

forthetoplistingwasthatproductsbySaccountedfor60percentofCompany

A・ssales,anditwasalsobasedonCompanyA・smanagementphilosophythatits

manufacturingfunctionwasfoundedonitsstablefootingasatradingfirm.The

secondsegmentwasproductsbyCompanyA・smanufacturingdivision,theproprie-

taryelectroniccomponentsdesignedandmanufacturedbyCompanyA.Thethird

waselectroniccomponentsmadebyCompanyB,asubsidiaryofCompanyA;the

fourthwaselectroniccomponentsbyCompanyC,anothersubsidiary;andthefifth

wastheremainingproductsprocuredfrom othersources.Table2�2summarizes

CompanyA・sproductsegmentation.

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 93

Table2�1 CompanyA・sCustomerSegmentation

Frequencyoftransactions

Atleastonetransactionayear

forlessthanthreeyears

Atleastonetransactionayear

forthreeyearsormore

MarketingExternal New Non-regular

Internal New Regular

Tablebytheauthor

3.Researchdesign

Thepurposeofthischapteristoclearlydescribethewaythestudywascon-

ducted.HereIwouldliketodiscusstheresearchquestions,researchmethods,re-

searchsite,andresearchdatainthatorder.

3�1 Researchquestions

Fixedrevenueaccountingisamanagementaccountingmodelthataimstohelp

acompanystabilizeitsoperationsbycoveringfixedcostswithfixedrevenues.

Asadaetal.(2005,p.4)assertthatbyputtingfixedrevenueaccountingatthecenter

ofmanagementcontrol,acompanycanimproveitscustomerrelationsinaneffec-

tiveway.Heretheyalsorefertothepracticeofapplyingfixedrevenueaccounting

inmanagementcontrolasfixedrevenuemanagementanddefineitasfollows:・Fix-

edrevenuemanagementisastyleofmanagementwhereastrategyfoundedon

establishingcustomerrelationshipsiscarriedoutinaplannedmanner,andprogress

isevaluatedbasedonamanagementaccountingsystem.・

Further,byhelpingtoenhancecustomerrelations,fixedrevenuemanagement

providedpositiveeffectsinthreeareas:financialbenefitsofstability,safetyand

growthpotential,constructionofasuperiorcompetitivefoundation,andimprove-

mentinemployeesatisfaction(Asadaetal.,2005,pp.7�16).Inthisstudy,Ihave

focusedonthefirstoftheabovepropositionsandexaminedthefinancialfruit―

earnings― offixedrevenueaccounting.

3�2 Researchmethods

Infixedrevenueaccounting,thereisauniqueincomestatementformatthat

enablesprofitabilitytobeanalyzed.Inthissection,Iwillconductaprofitability

analysisandtakeacloselookattheeffectsoffixedrevenueaccountingoncompany

performance.First,infixedrevenueaccounting,profitabilityisanalyzedinanin-

comestatementform,asshowninChart3�1.Asseeninthechart,thecolumns

displaythesalesfiguresforeachofthenew,regular,non-regularandlostcustomer

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・94

Table2�2 CompanyA・sProductSegmentation

1Productsby

CompanyS

Tradingfirm

divisionElectroniccomponentssuppliedbyCompanyS

2Productsby

CompanyA

Manufacturing

division

Electroniccomponentsdesignedandmanufacturedby

CompanyA

3Productsby

CompanyB

Manufacturing

divisionCompanyBisasubsidiarymaker

4Productsby

CompanyC

Manufacturing

divisionCompanyCisasubsidiarymaker

5 OthersTradingfirm

division

Electroniccomponentsandotherssuppliedbyother

firms

Tablebytheauthor

segments,whiletherowsrepresentsalesperproductsegmentsandsmallercatego-

riesofproducts.Thisway,theincomestatementformatisdesignedtohelpgrasp

thecompositionofsalesfrom theperspectivesofcustomerandproductsegments.

Finally,thecostsofgoodssoldforeachcustomersegmentareenteredtoarriveat

segment-by-segmentgrossprofits.16

Costsarebrokendownintouniquevariablecosts,uniquefixedcostsandcom-

monfixedcosts,andareallocatedtotheappropriatesegmentsaccordingtotheco

mpany・saccountingpolicies.17 Inthisstudy,Ihavedividedthetotalvariablecosts

bythetotalnumberofcustomersfortheperiodunderstudytoarriveatthevariable

costpercustomer,andthenmultipliedthefigurebythenumberofcustomersbe-

longingtoeachsegmenttoarriveattheuniquevariablecostsbysegment.Sundry

expenseitemsincorporatedinthiscomputationweretravelingexpenses,entertain-

ingexpenses,meetingexpenses,transportationexpensesandsalescharges.Gross

profitminusuniquevariablecostsmakesmarginalprofit.

Uniquefixedcostsconsistofemployeesalariesandbonuses,legalwelfareex-

penses,employeebenefitexpenses,utilityexpenses,communicationexpensesand

rents.Marginalprofitminusuniquefixedcostsmakescontributiveprofit.Common

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 95

Chart3�1 IncomeStatementFormatforFixedRevenueAccounting

TotalNew

customers

Regular

customers

Non-regular

customers

Lost

customers

Sales

Division1

Product1

Product2

Product3

Product4

Product5

Division2

Product1

Product2

Product3

Product4

Product5

Division3

Product1

Product2

Product3

Product4

Product5

Numberofcustomers

Total

Costofgoodssold

Grossoperatingprofit ①

Segment-uniquevariablecosts

Marginprofit

Segment-uniquefixedcosts ②

Contributiveprofit

Segment-commonfixedcosts ③

Operatingprofit

Fixedoperatingprofit④=①-(②+③) ④

Formatbytheauthor

costsarethosecostsappliedtooveralloperations,namely,overheadcostssuchas

thoserelatedtotheheadquarterswhicharetheremainderofselling,generaland

administrativecostsminusuniquevariablecostsanduniquefixedcosts.Contri-

butiveprofitminuscommonfixedcostsmakestheoperatingprofitfromeachcus-

tomersegment.From thesegmentedoperatingprofits,wecandeterminewhich

customersegmentcontributestothecompany・searningsmorethantheothers.

Further,bydeductinguniquefixedcostsandcommonfixedcostsfromthegross

profitforregularcustomers,wecanarriveatthefixedoperatingprofit.Fixedoper-

atingprofitrepresentsthedifferenceinrevenuesfromregularcustomers(i.e.,fixed

revenues)minusfixedcostssuchassalaries.Ifthefixedoperatingprofitispositive,

thecompanyiscoveringitsfixedcostswithfixedrevenuesalone,indicatingthatits

businessisstable.Achievingapositivefixedoperatingprofitistheforemostfinan-

cialobjectiveoffixedrevenueaccountingandthemostimportantaim.

InthisstudyIlookedatCompanyA・sfixedrevenueaccountingincomestate-

mentsandexaminedchangesintheoperatingprofitsbycustomersegment,total

operatingprofit,andfixedoperatingprofitoveraperiodoftenyears.Andonregu-

larcustomers,IfollowedCompanyA・sdistinctionanddividedthembetweenregular

customers(a),thoseabovethetargetedgrossprofit,andregularcustomers(b),

thosebelow.Asforanalysisbyproductsegment,Ilookedatthepercentageshares

ofnewproductsintotalsalesandgrossprofits.18 Ialsolookedintothepercentages

ofproductsbyCompanyA・smanufacturingdivisionintotalsalesandtotalgross

profits.Theaim wastoanalyzetowhatdegreesnew productsandproprietary

productswerecontributingtoeachofthecustomersegments.Focusingonthe

percentagesofnewproductsandproprietaryproductsshouldallowabroaderview

oftheeffectsoffixedrevenueaccountingonCompanyA・searnings.

3�3 Researchsite

Asstatedearlier,manyJapanesecompaniesarefacedwithseriouschallenges

arisingfrom economicandpoliticaluncertainties,themosttypicalexamplebeing

theelectronicsindustrywheremanyfirmsaresufferingfromrapiddeclinesininter-

nationalcompetitivenessandpostingmassivelosses.Thefocusofthisstudy,Com-

panyA,isanSMEthatbelongstosuchanelectronicsindustry,anditisnothardto

imaginethetoughconditionsitfacesgiventheunstablebusinessfoundationof

manySMEs.Notwithstandingallthis,CompanyAhasweatheredthehardtimes,

consistentlypostingpositiveearningswiththeexceptionofthebusinessyearthat

sawthecollapseofLehmanBrothers.HowhasCompanyAbeenusingfixedreve-

nueaccountingandfixedrevenuemanagement?Thetenyearsfrom 2002to2011

weremarkedwithcrisesexceedingtheimagination,startingwiththe9/11terrorist

attacks,anunstableworldeconomy,thedemiseofLehmanBrothers,theEuropean

debtcrisisandtheGreatEastJapanEarthquake.CompanyAsurvivedsuchupheav-

als,anditisworthwhiletoanalyzetheroleoffixedrevenuemanagement,theman-

agementaccountingsystemthatunderpinnedthecompany・smanagementstrategy.

Also,CompanyAbelongstotheelectroniccomponentsubcategoryoftheelec-

tronicsindustry,anditsmaincustomersareelectronicmachinerymakers.Its

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・96

businessmodeliswhatisknownasbusinesstobusiness,orBtoB,andallitstrans-

actionscanbeascribedtospecificcustomers.Bycomparison,withretailbusinesses

suchasdepartmentstores,whosetransactionsarebusinesstocustomer,orBtoC,it

isdifficulttoidentifythetransactionsforthelegionsofcustomers.Manystudiesof

fixedrevenueaccountinghavetargetedcompanieswiththeBtoCbusinessmodel,

suchasdepartmentstores.Fromthispointofviewaswell,itisworthwhiletoana-

lyzethecustomersegmentsofCompanyA,aBtoBcompanywithallitstransac-

tionsidentified,fortheadvancementoffixedrevenueaccountingstudies.

3�4 Researchdata

ThedatausedinthisstudyareCompanyA・sprofitabilityfiguresoverthelast

decade,itsfinancialstatementsandcustomer-identifiedtransactiondatabetween

fiscalyears2002and2011.

4.Outcomeofresearchandanalysis

Inthischapter,wewilllookattheoutcomeofthestudyconductedaccordingto

theresearchdesignaboveandexaminetheoutcomefromtheperspectiveofprofit-

ability.Ihavelaidouttheprofitabilityfiguresforthetenyearsfrom2002to2011in

alinechart.Fromthefixedrevenueincomestatements,astheoneshowninChart

3�1,Ihavecompiledtenyearsofoperatingprofitsbycustomersegment,totaloper-

atingprofit,andfixedoperatingprofitinChart4�1.Also,fromtheaspectofproduct

segmentation,IhavelistedthehistoricalpercentagesofnewproductsandCompany

A・sproprietaryproductsintotalsalesandtotalgrossprofit.

4�1 Profitabilityanalysis

Letusstartbylookingatthenewcustomersoperatingprofit.FromChart4�1,

wecanseethatthissegmentoperatedcontinuouslyinthered,exceptforfiscalyear

2006.ItcanbeinterpretedthatCompanyAwaseithernotverykeenonacquiring

new customers,oracquiredonlythosewhoprovideverypoorsalesandprofits.

However,itcanalsobesaidthatnewcustomersgenerallydonotbringlargevol-

umesofsalesandbydefinitiondonotaddverymuchtoprofits.Eitherway,Com-

panyAcontinuouslylostmoneyinthenewcustomerssegment,andwhetherthis

situationisregardedasaproblemtoaddressoraresultofactiveinvestmenttoturn

suchcustomersintoregularcustomerswilldependonthepolicyofthecompany.

Next,operatingprofitfromnon-regularcustomersshowedconsiderablechanges

inthelastdecade.Thesegmentlargelyproducedapositiveoperatingprofitupto

fiscalyear2007,butabruptlyturnedunprofitableinfiscalyear2008.ForCompany

A,non-regularcustomersarenotcustomersacquiredbytheirownmarketingef-

forts.CompanyAsawsalestosuchexternally-introducedcustomerssharplyde-

clinestartingin2008.Inthemeantime,thecompany・soverallfixedoperatingprofit

turnedpositiveafterthatsamefiscalyear.Itcanbeassumedthatsuchexternally-

introducedcustomerscostmoremoneybutbroughtlessprofitthanthosemarketed

internally.Suchobservationswouldnotbepossiblefromananalysisofchangesin

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 97

operatingprofitsalone.Throughanalysisbasedonfixedrevenueaccounting,we

areableseethatCompanyAweaneditselffromexternally-marketedcustomersand

shifteditsfocustointernally-marketedcustomersoverthecourseofthetenyears.

Wewillmoveontotheanalysisofregularcustomersoperatingprofit.Regular

customers(a),thegroupofcustomersthatbringsgrossprofitsaboveCompany

A・starget,providedpositiveoperatingprofitsmoreorlessconstantly.Notably,

operatingprofitfromthissegmentfrom2009onwasgenerallydoubletheaverage

figurefortheyearsbeforethen.Tounderstandwhy,itiseffectivetolookatthis

fromtheperspectiveofproductsegments.ThesegmentofCompanyA・sproprietary

productsregularlyrepresented1to2percentoftotalsalesuptillfiscalyear2008,but

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・98

Chart4�1 HistoricalProfitabilityAnalysis(unit:¥1,000)

FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011

New customersoperatingprofit

-110,207 -68,900 -74,304 24,466 -69,675 -59,404 -80,346 -80,361 -83,193

Non-regular customersoperatingprofit

39,691 2,102 42,529 -3,104 10,669 -30,624 -49,450 -31,968 -34,752

Regularcustomers(a)op-eratingprofit

119,758 66,910 59,726 74,313 59,166 87,224 163,183 148,688 151,255

Regularcustomers(b)op-eratingprofit

71,567 115,989 58,131 111,000 113,394 37,284 82,300 62,158 62,176

Lostcustomersoperatingprofit

-82,043 -63,839 -61,270 -104,890 -74,089 -111,118 -87,168 -78,170 -64,979

Operatingprofit 38,766 52,262 24,811 101,785 39,465 -76,637 28,519 20,347 30,507

Fixexoperatingprofit -139,031 -115,311 -195,703 -74,314 -146,993 -92,670 17,347 65,224 57,299

Percentageofnew prod-uctsintotalsales

70.05% 70.08% 65.97% 57.67% 58.86% 57.89% 59.68% 56.97% 47.27%

Percentageofnew prod-uctsingrossprofit

65.22% 59.43% 56.89% 54.85% 59.71% 55.95% 64.31% 55.26% 40.15%

Percentageofproprietaryproductsintotalsales

0.46% 0.78% 1.64% 1.83% 2.94% 1.00% 6.43% 20.65% 26.26%

Percentageofproprietaryproductsingrossprofit

0.67% 1.24% 2.81% 2.33% 3.65% 1.27% 30.92% 45.16% 45.31%

Chartsbytheauthor

theratiosoaredto26.26percentinfiscalyear2011.Moreover,theratioofsuchprod-

uctsagainsttotalgrossprofitclimbedfrom just1.27percentinfiscalyear2008to

45.31percentinfiscalyear2011.Inotherwords,withthejumpinsalesofproprietary

products,suchproductscametoprovidenearlyhalfthecompany・sentiregross

profit.Fixedrevenueaccountinganalysismadeitpossibletoquantitativelygrasp

thetransformationofCompanyAfrom atradingcompanyintoamaker.Inthe

meantime,regularcustomers(b),whichprovidegrossprofitsbelowCompanyA・s

target,providedmoreorlessstablepositiveprofitsthroughout.However,even

thoughtheregularcustomers(b)segmentwasconsistentlyintheblackfromfiscal

year2007on,itdidnotshowmovementintangentwiththegrowthofproprietary

productsthewayregularcustomers(a)segmentdid.CompanyA・smanufacturing

divisiondidnotmakeanoticeabledifferenceinregularcustomers(b).Fromthis

observation,wecaninferthatregularcustomers(b)contributedmoretothesales

ofthecompany・stradingdivisionthantothemanufacturingdivision.

Thelostcustomersdivisionconsistentlyshowednegativeprofitthroughoutthe

decade.Bydefinition,lostcustomersarethosewhichbroughtnotransactionsinthe

respectivefiscalyears,soitmaybeanexpectedresult.Still,fromthefactthatthe

sectionincurredlossesofcomparablevolumeeveryyear,wecansurmisethatthere

weresimilarincidencesofcustomerlossesyearafteryear.Asstatedbefore,the

electronicsindustryinJapanhasbeenindirefinancialstraitsandseennumerous

closuresofdomesticfactoriesandbusinessesasproductionmovedoverseas.Itmay

bethathighlevelsofcustomerlossespersistedduetothesecircumstances.Dowe

considersuchsituationsassomethingunavoidable?Theoutcomeofthelostcus-

tomersanalysisbyfixedrevenueaccountinglaidbarethesevereeconomicsituation

andtoughproblemsthatJapanesebusinessesface.

Lastly,wewilllookatfixedoperatingprofit.Thelinechartforfixedoperating

profitshowsacontrastbetweenthesignificantlossesuptillfiscalyear2008andthe

positivefiguresfrom fiscalyear2009onward.Itisthoughtthatthiscontrastoc-

curredincorrelationwiththesignificantincreasesinthepercentagesofCompany

A・sproprietaryproductsagainsttotalsalesandtotalgrossprofitsstartinginfiscal

year2009.Fixedoperatingprofitturnedpositiveinfiscalyear2009,whileatthe

sametimethepercentageofproprietaryproductsintotalsalesjumpedfrom the

previousyear・s1percentto6.43percent,andthepercentageintotalgrossprofit

from1.27percentto30.92percent.CompanyA,byboostingsalesinitsproprietary

manufacturingdivision,succeededinturningarounditsfixedoperatingprofit.

Intheaboveprofitabilityanalysis,itisofparticularnotethatthecompany・s

fixedoperatingprofitturnedpositivestartinginfiscalyear2009.Thecollapseof

LehmanBrothersinSeptember2008triggeredaglobalfinancialcrisisthatplunged

theentireworldeconomyintoturmoil.Itwasimmediatelyafterthisincidentthat

CompanyAachievedapositivefixedoperatingprofit,orputdifferently,cameto

coveritsfixedcostswithfixedrevenues.Itwasinfiscalyear2006thatCompanyA

adoptedfixedrevenuemanagementwiththefocusonfixedrevenueaccounting.

Andinits2006medium-termbusinessplan,itsetitsstrategicsightsonimproving

profitabilitybymeasuressuchasaimingtoturnmorenewcustomersintoregular

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 99

customers.WecanfeasiblypointoutthatamajorfactorinCompanyA・ssuccessin

producingapositiveoperatingprofitintheimmediateaftermathofLehman

Brothers・demisewasitseffortstoturnmorenewcustomersintoregularcustomers

andboostprofitabilitywiththehelpoffixedrevenueaccounting.

Further,eveninfiscalyear2011,immediatelyfollowingtheGreatEastJapan

Earthquake,CompanyA postedapositiveoperatingprofitandfixedoperating

profit,andwecanassumethatthecompany・sbusinessstrategybasedonfixedreve-

nueaccountinghelpedtoturnnewcustomersintoregularcustomersandimprove

profitability,andultimatelytostabilizebusiness.Incidentally,thoughCompanyA

postedanoperatinglossinfiscalyear2008,theyearthatsaw LehmanBrothers・

collapse,itmanagedtoreportapositivepretaxprofitthankstoproceedsfromthe

cancellationofaninsurancepolicy.Putdifferently,itsperformancewasstable

enoughastobeproppedupwithinsurancecancellation,andwiththatkindofresil-

ienceithasbeenabletowithstandthespateofcrisesthatcontinuestopunishthe

electronicsindustry,suchastheglobalfinancialcrisis,theGreatEastJapanEarth-

quake,theEuropeandebtcrisis,floodinginThailandandtheterritorialdisputeover

theSenkakuIslands,andhascontinuallyreportedstableoperatingandfixedoperat-

ingprofits.AstudyofCompanyAaloneisnotenoughtoidentifytheeffectsof

fixedrevenueaccountingonprofitability,butatleastinthecaseofCompanyAwe

cansafelystatethatfixedrevenueaccountingwaseffectiveinpromotingthemove

toturnmorecustomersintoregularcustomersandboostprofitability,orinother

words,tostabilizebusinessperformance.Asananswerto3�1Researchquestions,

wecanconcludethatfixedrevenueaccountingiseffectiveinboostingprofitability.

5.Conclusion

Inthefinalchapter,Iwillsummarizethestudyandlookatitseffectiveness,

limitsandissues.Thepurposeofthestudywastoexaminetheeffectsoffixed

revenueaccountingoncompanyperformance.ThetargetofthestudywasCom-

panyA,anelectroniccomponentmakerandtradingcompanywhichintroduced

fixedrevenueaccountinginfiscalyear2006,anditsfinancialdataovertenyears

from2002to2011wereanalyzedfromtheperspectiveofprofitability.

InChapter2,wesawanoverviewofCompanyA・shistoryaswellasindustry

trendsandwentontodefinethecompany・scustomersegmentsandproductseg-

ments.CompanyA characteristicallydistinguishedbetweencustomersacquired

throughitsownmarketingeffortsandthoseexternallyintroducedwhichdidnot

giveCompanyAanysayinthechoiceofproducts,suchasthecaseofEMS,defining

theformerasregularcustomersandthelatterasnon-regularcustomers.Also,Com-

panyAregardedasnewcustomersthosewithinthreeyearsofthefirsttransaction

andbroughtbusinessonaregularbasis.Fromthefourthyearon,suchcustomers

weredividedintoeitherregularornon-regularcustomers.Lostcustomerswere

thosewhichdidnotbringanybusinessduringtheyearunderstudy.Further,regu-

larcustomersthatbroughtgrossprofitsaboveCompanyA・stargetweredefinedas

regularcustomers(a),andthosebelowweredefinedasregularcustomers(b).In

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・100

themeantime,productsweredividedintofivesegments,thelargercategorization

beingtradingdivisionandmanufacturingdivision.

InChapter3,welookedattheresearchdesigncenteredonprofitabilityanalysis

asusedinfixedrevenueaccounting.Asforresearchquestions,thestudylookedat

thediscussionbyAsadaetal.(2005,pp.7�16)andfocusedonexaminingtheeffects

offixedrevenueaccountingoncompanyperformance.Asforresearchmethod,the

studyconductedaprofitabilityanalysisusingthecompany・sfixedrevenueaccount-

ingincomestatements,scrutinizingthechangesinoperatingprofitforeachofthe

customersegments,totaloperatingprofitandfixedoperatingprofitovertenyears.

Notably,fixedoperatingprofitisthemostimportantmeasureofstability,asaposi-

tivefigurehereindicatesthatfixedrevenuesalonecoverfixedcosts.Thepercent-

agesofCompanyA・sproprietaryproductsagainsttotalsalesandtotalgrossprofits

werealsolookedat.AndtheresearchsitewasCompanyA,anSMEthatbelongsto

theJapaneseelectronicsindustrywhichconfrontsarapiddeclineininternational

competitiveness.WhilemanySMEssufferfromanunstableoperatingfoundation

andfaceseverebusinessconditions,CompanyAhasconsistentlypostedpositive

operatingprofits,withtheexceptionofthebusinessyearthatsawthecollapseof

LehmanBrothers.Ofespecialnotewasthatthetenyearsfrom 2002to2011saw

numerousglobalcrises,startingwiththeaftermathofthe9/11terroristattacks,the

fallofLehmanBrothersandsubsequentglobalfinancialcrisis,theEuropeandebt

crisis,andtheGreatEastJapanEarthquake.ThestudylookedatCompanyA,which

adoptedfixedrevenueaccountinginfiscalyear2006,andshedlightontheeffects

androlesoffixedrevenueaccounting.Theresearchdatacomprisedprofitability

figuresobtainedfromCompanyA・sfinancialstatementsoverthepasttenyears.

InChapter4,weexaminedtheoutcomeoftheprofitabilityanalysis.Company

A・snewcustomersegmentchronicallypostedoperatinglosses,anditdependedon

thecompany・sjudgmentwhethertotakeissuewiththisorregarditasaninvest-

menttowardturningsuchcustomersintoregularcustomers.Next,operatingprofit

fromnon-regularcustomersstayedpositivetillfiscalyear2007,butturnednegative

fromfiscalyear2008on.Thiswasthoughtduetothesuddendecreaseinsalesto

externally-introducedregularcustomers.GiventhatCompanyA・sfixedoperating

profitturnedpositiveinfiscalyear2008,wecanseethatCompanyA・ssalesfocus

shiftedfrom externally-introducedcustomerstocustomersacquiredthroughits

ownmarketingefforts,whichwerecustomersthatbroughtmoreprofitability.Asa

matteroffact,operatingprofitfrom regularcustomers(a)hadconsistentlybeen

positive,buttheprofitfiguredoubledfromfiscalyear2009oncomparedtotheyears

leadinguptothen.Atthesametime,thepercentageofCompanyA・sproprietary

productsintotalsalessoaredfromthe2percentleveltillfiscalyear2008to26per-

centinfiscalyear2011,testifyingtothecorrelationbetweenregularcustomers(a)

andproprietaryproducts.Bycontrast,operatingprofitfromregularcustomers(b)

hadbeenpositivebutdidnotshowacorrelativerelationshipwiththeincreasing

salesvolumeinCompanyA・smanufacturingsector.Finally,weanalyzedthefixed

operatingprofit.Thisfigurehadshownsignificantlossestillfiscalyear2008,but

turnedpositivefromthenextfiscalyearon.Itcanbethoughtthattheincreasein

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 101

salesandgrossprofitfromproprietaryproductsstartingin2009wasthemajorcon-

tributor.WecanseefromherethatCompanyAsucceededincontinuouslyposting

apositivefixedoperatingprofit,inotherwords,stabilizingitsoperation,byboost-

ingsalesinitsproprietarymanufacturingdivision.Whileitisprematuretomakea

definitivestatementbasedonthisstudyalone,wecanconcludethat,inthecaseof

CompanyA,fixedrevenueaccountinghadacertainlevelofimpactonincreasing

fixedrevenuesandstabilizingbusinessoperations.

Ibelievethatthisstudyhassucceededinattainingacertainlevelofinsight

throughdemonstrativeanalysis.Theconclusionisthatfixedrevenueaccounting

hadastrongimpactonprofitabilityimprovementatCompanyA.Inthetumultuous

tenyearsfrom 2002to2011,wheresuchunimaginableeventsasthecollapseof

LehmanBrothersandtheGreatEastJapanEarthquakeoccurredoneaftertheother,

fixedrevenueaccountingwithitsprimarytargetofproducingpositivefixedoperat-

ingprofits,orstabilizingoperations,supportedthebusinessstrategyofCompanyA.

Aswecanseefromthiscase,JapaneseSMEsaremakingactiveuseofanewmodel

ofmanagementaccounting.JapaneseSMEsareshowingunparalleledresiliency,

evenonaglobalscale,andsuchresiliencycanbedemonstratedfromtheperspective

ofmanagementaccounting.IplantocontinuetostudyJapaneseSMEsandtheiruse

ofmanagementaccounting.

1 Accordingtothe・2009EconomicCensusforBusinessFrame・bytheMinistryofInternal

AffairsandCommunications,thereare4.201millionSMEsinJapan,andtheyaccountfor

70percentofallJapaneseemployment.AnSMEisdefined,asstipulatedintheSmalland

MediumEnterprisesBasicAct,asamanufacturingbusinesswithpaid-incapitalof300

millionyenorlessorworkforceof300orless,awholesalebusinesswithpaid-incapital

of100millionyenorlessorworkforceof100orless,aretailbusinesswithpaid-incapital

of50millionyenorlessorworkforceof50orless,andaservice-sectorbusinesswith

paid-incapitalof50millionyenorworkforceof100orless.

2 Oilcriseshererefertothosein1973and1979,whenupheavalsintheMiddleEastsetoff

asurgeincrudeoilpricesandturmoilintheglobaleconomy.Itdealtaparticularlyhard

blowtoresource-poorJapan.ThecollapseofLehmanBrothersin2008,triggeredbythe

deteriorationoftheU.S.sub-primemortgagemarket,inturnledtoaglobalfinancial

crisis.

3 ・5S・referstofivefundamentalbehaviorsofseiri(organization),seiton(tidiness),seiso

(cleaningup),seiketsu(cleanliness),andshitsuke(discipline)characteristicallyprac-

ticedbyJapanesemanufacturers.Kaizen,alsoknownastheToyotaWay,isaconcept

whichaimstoimprovequalitybyencouragingfiveiterationsofaskingwhy.

4 SuchmodelsincludeCVPanalysis,ABCanalysisandEVAanalysis.

5 ・Semiconductor・genericallyreferstoelectroniccomponents,madefromsiliconeorother

materials,usedtocontrolelectricalcurrentorvoltage.

6 SemiconductortradingcompaniesaremainlylocatedaroundAkihabarainTokyoand

NipponbashiinOsaka,whereblackmarketsforelectricpartsoperatedintheperiod

immediatelyafterWorldWarII.

7 Intheprocessofeconomicdevelopmentwhereruralpopulationsuppliescheaplaborto

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・102

Notes

manufacturingandgivesrisetotheexpansionofsecondaryindustry,thereisapoint

wherethelaborsupplyfromtheagriculturalsectordriesupandgrowthinthemanufac-

turingsectorslowsdown.ThisideawasproposedbytheBritisheconomistArthur

Lewis(1915�1991).

8 DRAM standsforDynamicRandom AccessMemory,asemiconductordeviceusedto

storedata.

9 SCMreferstoaconceptofcomprehensivemanagementoftheflowofgoodsfrommanu-

facturingtodistributionandsales.Itismainlyappliedwhenmakersattempttoshed

excessinventory.DuetothespreadofSCM,directdealingbetweencomponentmakers

andassemblymakersincreased.

10 EMSisaservicewhereelectroniccomponents,suchaselectronicsubstrates,aremanu-

facturedonacommissionedbasis.

11 Powersupplyunitsconvertalternatecurrentpowertodirectcurrentpowerorvice

versa.

12 Here,opticalcomponentsrefertoxenondischargetubes,andspecialinductorpartsrefer

tosphericaltransformers.

13 SWOT isapopularmarketingtechniquewhereprojectsareanalyzedintermsof

strength,weakness,opportunityandthreat.4Pisanothermarketingtechniquethat

analyzesproduct,price,placeandpromotion.

14 CompanyA categorizesmakersthatspecializeinelectronicsmanufacturingservices

(EMS)asnon-regularcustomers.EMScompaniesmanufactureelectronicscomponents

likesubstratesonacommissionedbasis,andbasicallyhavenosayindeterminingwhich

componentstoproduce.Also,caseswhereCompanyAconductshardlyanymarketing

activityandwheresecondarydistributorsdeterminethedealsdonotqualifyasinter-

nallycreatedsales.CompanyAregardsthosecustomersnotacquiredthroughitsown

marketingeffortsasnon-regularcustomers.

15 AbankruptcustomerthatcontinuesoperationunderlegalprotectionsuchastheCivil

RehabilitationActisnotregardedasalostcustomer.Inthecaseofmid-term bank-

ruptcyandbusinessinterruption,salesfromthecustomeruptothatpointgointothe

calculation.Ifpurchasesarereturnedfrom alostcustomer,thecorrespondingfigures

aredeductedfromthesalesfigures.Inthisstudy,Iusedfiguresaftersuchadjustments.

16 ・Thenumberofcustomers・foundontheform isforinformationpurposesonly;the

numberofcustomersdoesnotenterinthecomputationoffixedrevenueaccounting

profitfigures.

17 AccordingtoAsadaetal.(2011,p.73),uniquefixedcostsincludeadvertisementex-

pensespertainingtorespectiveproductlinesanddepreciationcostsofmachineryand

equipmentattributabletorespectivesegments,whilecommonfixedcostsincludeover-

headcostssuchasheadquartersexpensesthatrelatetoallproductsandsegments.

18 CompanyAdefinesthoseproductsasnewthatarewithinthreeyearsaftertheywere

firstadoptedbycustomers,inadditiontoproductswithinthreeyearsofdevelopment.

Electroniccomponentsarenotfinishedproducts,andcommoditypartscanbeadopted

fornewmarketsornewuse.Insuchcasesitisappropriatetocountsuchcomponentsas

newproducts.

TakayukiAsada,KenichiSuzuki,Katsu Kawano,Fixed RevenueManagement,Chuo-

keizaisha-Inc.,2005

TakayukiAsada,MakotoYori,MasaruNakagawa,IkukoSasaki,IntroductiontoManagement

AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・ 103

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ies,Vol.50,secondissue,pp.24�83,2012

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ValueCreationandBusinessManagementbyTakashiNemotoetal.,pp.111�123,Gaku-

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tionsStatisticsBureau,2011:www.stat.go.jp

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AccountingfromFinancialAnalysis,MoriyamaShoten,2008

KosukeMatsuoka,・StudyofVarianceAnalysisofFinancialandNon-financialPerform-

ancesbasedonFixedRevenueAccounting・,2012Ph.D.thesisatMeijiUniversityGradu-

ateSchoolofBusinessAdministration,2012

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FrameworkandCaseStudyofVarianceAnalysisregardingCustomerRelationships・,

CostAccountingStudy,Vol.32,firstissue,pp.85�97,2008

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AStudyofManagementStyleof・Japan・sSmall-MediumSizedEnterprises・104

EditorialBoard

EditorinChief HirooIchikawa,Professor,MeijiUniversity

YurikoMinamoto,Professor,MeijiUniversity

NobusatoKitaoji,Professor,MeijiUniversity

AkiraNakamura,ProfessorEmeritus,MeijiUniversity

ListofContributors

HideakiTanaka,DoctorofPolicyStudies(NationalGraduateInstituteforPolicy

Studies,Japan)

Professor,GraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudies,MeijiUniversity.Hereceived

MasterofEngineeringfromTokyoInstituteofTechnologyandMasterofSciencein

SocialPolicyfromLondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience.

AfterlongexperiencesworkingintheGovernmentofJapanincludingMinistryof

Finance,CabinetOffice,MinistryofForeignAffairs,andMinistryofSocialWelfare,

heteachesinMeijiUniversity.Hemajorsinpublicpolicy,financeandmanagement.

Hiscurrentresearchcoverspoliticaleconomyofbudgeting,conflictmanagementin

coalitiongovernment,andageingandsocialwelfarepolicy.

RosarioLaratta,Ph.D.(UniversityofWarwick,U.K.)

RosarioLarattaisanAssociateProfessorofSocialPolicyandDevelopmentatthe

GraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudies,MeijiUniversity,Tokyo.Hereceiveda

MastersinPublicAdministrationfromBocconiUniversity,whichisaleadinguni-

versityinItaly,andaMastersandaPhDinSociologyfromWarwickUniversity,UK.

LarattaisalsotheauthorofsomebookssuchasNon-profitorganizationsinEngland

andJapan(2012)andhaspublisheddozensofarticles,includingpeer-reviewedpa-

persinleadinginternationaljournals,suchas・JapaneseSocialEnterprises:Major

ContemporaryIssuesandKeyChallenges・fortheSocialEnterpriseJournalin2011.

ElenaShadrina,Ph.D.(NiigataUniversity,Japan)

ElenaShadrina,anassociateprofessoratMeijiUniversityGraduateSchoolofGov-

ernanceStudies,isaneconomistspecializinginthestudyofenergygovernance,

energycooperationandenergypolicytransitionsinRussia,Japan,ChinaandSouth

KoreaandRussia・senergypolicyinAsia.Shehasresearchandteachingexperience

inRussia,NorwayandJapan.PriortojoiningMeijiUniversityin2011,sheworked

atKhabarovskStateAcademyofEconomicsandLaw,KSAEL(Russia)asan

105

associateprofessorininternationaleconomicrelationsandvice-deanoninterna-

tionalacademiccooperationtill2005,atEconomicResearchInstituteforNortheast

Asia(ERINA,Japan)asaresearchassistantin2006�2009andwasavisitingre-

searcherattheNorwegianInstituteforDefenseStudiesin2009�2010.Shegained

PhDinEconomicswithdoctoralthesis・EnergyCooperationinNortheastAsia:In-

sightintoImpactonRegionFormation・(NiigataUniversity,2009).Shehaspub-

lishednumerousarticlesininternationalpeer-reviewedjournals.Amongherrecent

publicationsare:・Russia・sPivottoAsia:Rationale,ProgressandProspectsforOil

andGasCooperation・,Region,RegionalStudiesofRussia,EasternEuropeandCen-

tralAsia(2015),・Russia・sNaturalGasPolicytowardNortheastAsia:Rationales,

Objectivesand Institutions,・Energy Policy(2014);・Russia・sDilemmasabout

China・sGasMarket,・TheNortheastAsianEconomicReview(2014);・Russia・sEn-

ergyGovernanceTransitionsandImplicationsForEnhancedCooperationwith

China,Japan,andSouthKorea,・PostSovietAffairs(2013,co-authoredwithMichael

Bradshaw);・TheFukushimaFallout:GaugingtheChangeinJapaneseNuclearEn-

ergyPolicy,・TheInternationalJournalofDisasterRiskScience(2012);etc.Sheisa

memberofaresearchgroup・EnergySecurity・undertheauspiceofERINA.

TakayukiKubo,M.Arch(CornellUniversity,USA)

TakayukiKuboisaseniorresearcherattheFukuokaAsianUrbanResearchCenter.

Healsoteaches・GlobalCompetitivenessofCities・asanadjunctlectureratthe

GraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudiesatMeijiUniversity.Hehaspracticalexperi-

encesinurbandevelopmentinJapan,U.S.,China,andKoreaasaprofessionalarchi-

tectandplanner.Asanurbanresearcher,hewasinchargeofcreatingtheGlobal

PowerCityIndexwhichbenchmarksthecompetitivenessofTokyowithother

globalcities.HismostrecentresearchtopicincludestheurbanpoliciesofFukuoka

intheglobalcontext.

HiromuneIshii,Ph.D.(B.A.)(MeijiUniversity,Japan)

HiromuneIshiiisCEOofSanshinElectricCo.Ltd.,amediumsizedelectronicsfirm

basedinTokyo,andalsohasestablishedmorethansixenterprises.Hegrewupin

TokyoandearnedhisM.A.andPh.D.inBusinessAdministrationfromtheGraduate

SchoolofBusinessAdministrationatMeijiUniversity.Heteaches・JapaneseBusi-

nessManagement・asanadjunctlecturerattheMeijiUniversityGraduateSchoolof

GovernanceStudiesand・AccountingforPerformanceManagement・attheMeiji

BusinessSchool.

106

MeijiJournalofGovernanceStudies

Vol.2,2014

DateofIssue:March31,2015

EditorinChief:HirooIchikawa

Publishedby: MeijiUniversityGraduateSchoolofGovernanceStudies

1-1KandaSurugadai,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,Japan101-8301

Tel03-3296-2398,Fax03-3296-4321

E-mail:gabaken@mics.meiji.ac.jp