Government at a Glance 2017

Country Fact Sheetwww.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

Government employment as a percentage of total employment in Japan is the lowestamong OECD countries, around 6%

This share has also been quite stable since 2007. Over 85% of staff is employed at sub-central level, which indicates a high level of decentralisation of public administrations. Representation of women in central ad-ministration is the lowest among OECD countries (18%). Women only account for 3% of senior and middle managers whereas the OECD average is 33%. 16% of the staff in central public administration has at least 55 years old, which is significantly lower than the OECD average (24%).

Chapter 3. Public employment and pay

Employment in general government as a percentage of total employmentDistribution of general government employment across levels of governmentShare of women in senior management positions in central governmentPercentage of central government employees aged 55 years or older

Japan is among the leaders on open government data policies among OECD countries

Governments gather large amounts of information as part of its administrative duties. Some of that informa-tion can be put to use not only to improve the organizational efficiency of the government itself, but also to create value-added in private sector, foster innovation and empower citizens’ decision-making. According to the OURdata index, Japan has the third highest score on the availability, accessibility and re-use of public sector information, after Korea and France, which reflects how the country is moving forward in adapting its technological capabilities to satisfy the growing demand for information.

Chapter 10. Open government

Open-Useful-Reusable Government Data Index (OURdata)

Japan has introduced spending reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public expenditures

Spending reviews assess the scope, scale and impact of government spending, and therefore are an important tool of fiscal management. Between 2008 and 2016, Japan has carried out six government spending reviews. These are led by outside government experts who assess the effectiveness of government programs.

Chapter 5. Budgeting practices and procedures

Frequency and scope of spending reviews

Japan

Fiscal balance*(2015)

Government expenditures(2015)

Government gross debt*(2015)

% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP

Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts

G@G /dataG@G /data

26134,500

88,70052,700

Middle Managers(D3 positions)

Senior Managers(D1 positions)

SeniorProfessionals

SecretarialPositions

2015USD PPP

150,000

300,000

450,000

231,500

n.a.

Japan

n.a.

maximum150,300

maximum247,400

entry111,900

entry217,900

Annual compensation across central government positions (2015)

Government investment(2015)

How to read the figures:

Japan

Country value in blue (not represented if not available)

Average of OECD countries in red

Range of OECD country values in grey

Public Finance and Economics

10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

24.9%16.3%

Japan

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

40.9%39.4%

Japan

0% 2% 4% 6% 8%

3.2%3.9%

Japan

221.8% 100%

0%

100%

0%

Japan

112%

100% 150% 200% 250%50%0%

Values have been rounded. n.a. refers to

data not available

% of GDP

Public Employment

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the Composition of the workforce in Central/federal Governments

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the compensation of employees in central / federal governments

... and in senior positions (2015)

Source: OECD* See Notes National Accounts

Source: OECD* SNA definition, see Notes National Accounts

Public Sector Compensation

53.0%17.6%Japan

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

32.4%3.1%Japan

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Women in the civil service ...

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the Composition of the workforce in Central/federal Governments

Percentage of central government employees aged 55 years or older

(2015)

General government employmentas % of total employment (2015)

18.1%

5.9%Japan

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Source: OECD National Accounts

-10% 0%-5% +5% +10%

-2.8%

-3.5%Japan

Budgeting

Women in Government

Extent of delegationof HRM practicesin line ministries

0.580.64

Extent of the useof performance

assessmentsin HR decisions

0.68

0.64

Extent of the useof performance

related pay

1.00

0.66

Use of separateHRM practices

for seniorcivil servants

0.500.55

Collectionof administrative

data

0.50

0.68

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1

Japan

G@G /data

Source: OECD (2016) Strategic Human Resources Management Survey

Composite indicators on HRM practices in central government (2016)

Human Resource Management

Composite indices on regulatory governance for primary laws*(2014)

G@G /data

Regulatory governance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

29.1%

50%

41.2%

Japan

Source: OECD National Accounts

General governmentprocurement expenditures

(2015)% of government expenditures

Public Procurement

Support for greenpublic procurement

Some procuring entities have developed an internal strategy/policy

A strategy/policy has been developed at a central level

Support forSMEs

Support for innovativegoods and services

A strategy/policy has been rescinded

There has never been a strategy/policy in place

11 25 1 0 8 24 0 1 9 19 0 6

Japan

Strategic public procurement - Objectives(2016)

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on Public Procurement

* See Notes Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG)

0.41

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0.32Japan

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

Performance budgetingpractices at the central level

of government (2016)

Source: OECD (2016) Survey of Performance Budgeting

Stakeholderengagement in

developing regulations

0.71

2.09

Regulatory ImpactAssessment for

developing regulations

1.39

2.05

Ex post evaluationof regulations

1.00

1.54

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 4 highest

0

1

2

3

4

Japan

Notes Fiscal balance as reported in the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures. Regulatory governance indicators: The results for stakeholder engagement and Regulatory Impact Assessment apply exclusively to processes for developing primary laws initiated by the executive. Data is not applicable to the United States, where all primary laws are initiated by Congress. In the majority of countries, most primary laws are initiated by the executive, except for Mexico and Korea, where a higher share of primary laws are initiated by parliament/congress (respectively 90.6% and 84%). Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which dif fers from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt.

Open Data Digital Government

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

35.6%n.a.

Japan

Individuals using the Internet for sending filled forms via public authorities websites

in the past 12 months (2016)

Source: OECD, ICT database; and Eurostat, Information Society database

OURdata Index:Open, Useful, Reusable Government Data

(2017)Composite index: from 0 lowest to 1 highest

Source: OECD (2017) Survey on Open Government Data

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

0.80

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

0.55

Japan

Dataavailability

Dataaccessibility

Governmentsupportto re-use

Differences in income inequality pre and post-taxand government transfers (2013)

Japan

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6Higher

inequality

Lowerinequality

Before After

0.49

0.33taxes and transfers

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Before After

0.47

0.32taxes and transfers

Higherinequality

Lowerinequality

Source: OECD Income Distribution Database

Limited government powers (2016)

0.75

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

0.74Japan

Source: The World Justice Project

Core Government ResultsSatisfaction and confidence across public services

(2016)

70%

Judicial system Education system

71%20

40

60

80

100

Health care

67%60%55%68%

National government42%36%

Japan

Average

Range

Police77%74%

Source: Gallup World Poll

% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction

Government at a Glance 2017Government at a Glance provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the goal of contributing to the analysis and international

comparison of public sector productivity and performance. Indicators on government revenues, expenditures, and employment are presented,

alongside key output and outcome data for education, health and justice. Information on key enablers to increase productivity including on digital

government, budget procedures, strategic human resource management, open government data and innovative practices are also included. In

a context of tight budget constraints in many member countries, good indicators are needed more than ever, in order to help governments make

informed decisions regarding resource allocation and to help restore confidence in government institutions.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2017-en

The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance 2017 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:

For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: www.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm