Japanese Government Leadership and Management

The author offers insights into the management of public programmes by the Japanese government which has, since the Second World War, achieved a record of remarkable growth economically, socially and educationally, and has also restructured its national prefectural and municipal governments. This development has been led, he argues, not only by Prime Ministers and Ministers of State, but by the leadership of the ministries of national government and the leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party which together constitute the three rings of power which rule the country. The author reveals how the inncer circles of the ruling party, the ministers and political leaders overlap in the exercise of power, explains the financial and leadership relationships between national and municipal governments and how national government influences the private sector. He also uses national education and transport systems to illustrate how national government deploys its powers and authorities. Charles Bingman is a former Deputy Associate Director in the US Office of Management and Budget, and Deputy Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. He has held top executive positions in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, served as Executive Director of the President's Management Improvement Council under President Carter and as a government organization and management consultant to the Reagan transition team.