1 in 7 young bureaucrats in Japan intend to quit in a few years: poll

39.7 percent said they have not been paid enough.

You have got to be kidding? Good luck finding a job that pays more in the private sector, these people have no idea. They will stay, conform become what they most fear to become. Or work at a "normal" job earning just enough to live regretting perhaps their decision if they ever make it.

We've just had yet another article yesterday about Japan's declining birthrate. Reading through the articles and the comments give the impression of a country that needs change. The government in attempts to raise the declining birthrate seems to have done nothing, but is all out of ideas.

Perhaps this is a good thing; A chance for introspection, a chance to deflate the bloated public service system. Less workers/overheads means more of the pie to be given out elsewhere. Education, early childhood, mental health services could all do with a bit more.

I hope they will see the silver lining and take the chance.

every one of them became a bureaucrat to contribute to the public

With every student of mine who wanted to become a bureaucrat and/or actually became one, this was never mentioned as a motivating factor.

Most wanted to work for the government because 1) parents wanted them to, 2) lifetime employment 3) good pay, 4) status

Now that they're pushing 30 maybe they're thinking there must be more to life than this mind-numbingly tedious job; they're wrong, of course.

I agree with Cricky, if these young men belong to the national government, they are getting paid pretty damn well, and I doubt they are doing the guy of "service zangyo" that a lot of others working for private companies are forced to do. They seem to have a feeling of self worth that does not equal what they can really do. But since they were public servants, private companies will be falling all over themselves to have these special people.

Don’t do it! We need more bureaucrats! And Fax machines.

Working long hours? In Japan? Never!

if these young men belong to the national government, they are getting paid pretty damn well, and I doubt they are doing the guy of "service zangyo"

Well for service zangyo in private sector, most of people inside the team will do the same thing but for public sector bureaucrat usually the older one will go home right away while still getting salary above those hard working junior. While junior working hard with less pay, that's not a good environment. Especially when these young smart young people realized most of their work time just doing meaningless bureaucracy paperwork.

Japan is still a nation where government workers are paid less than private sector and below the equivalent salaries of other developed nations. I'm not surprised to read this.

A popular career path now is to work for the government, then use the contacts later when in the private sector. Not unreasonable.

For this article, "bureaucrat"="kokka koumuin" (i.e., national government employee) only?

The reason I'm interested is the whether the people who want to quit are employed on full terms. If they are "non-regular employee" (hiseiki) public workers, they won't have the good conditions the posters above describe. They'll have lower pay, no pension, no bonus, and no job for life. The questionnaire in the article mentions nothing about the terms on which the individual workers were employed.

According to this article, close to one in four kokka koumuin are hiseiki . "国家公務員全体でも非正規（非常勤）化が進められており、非正規の割合は2012年の19.6%から2019年には22.1%まで上昇している。"

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/konnoharuki/20200227-00164904/

If a male job-for-life kokka koumuin in his 30s or 40s is married and has children, I would imagine his wife would not let him quit. When women are asked, it's one of the most popular jobs for prospective marriage candidates. Kokka komuin will get you into the same go-kon parties as being a doctor or lawyer.

Older male bureaucrats are less interested in finding some other job,

Surprise, surprise. It’s reason why we get those with little ambition, skill, nor sense that stay on and end up finally running the show. By the time they hit a certain age the original purpose and aim of the job is forgotten as with the zest, passion and intellect for complex problems they once possessed.

Remember these guys were once top in their class, way way back in the day. The system took care of that though didn’t it!

No service zangyo in the bureaucracy. I was talking to a bloke working for a major government office who told me he wasn't busy but he took a taxi home at 3am (From Kasumigaseki to Yokohama, on our dime) because he was saving up to go to Machu Picchu.

Didn't even think it was worth pretending he wasn't bilking the taxpayer. Just a systemic assumption that, if your bum's in the chair, you're getting paid. And we just stump up the cash and thank them for their "hard work."

Parasites.

All these percentages, but no actual numbers. How many bureaucrats under 30 are they talking about? 10? 20? 30?

Bureaucrats are a few select talents in Japan. Many of them are graduates of the prestigious University of Tokyo.　And yet many of them are thinking of quitting the job in a few years?  Why?

The poll should have cut more deeply into the core of the problem, because a lot of them may have a complex sense of feeling about the governmental work required of them, on one hand, and social justice expected from society at large, on the other: Look at the Moritomo Gakuen land scandal issue and the Henoko relocation issue, for example, or the overall U.S. base issue.

They may know the government's stance is very weak and unjustifiable, and yet they have to work for the sake of the government in spite of themselves.

We have hired a few people from government over the years. My opinion is that after age 30 or so, they tend not to want to roll up their sleeves to do work, want “managerial” positions, and have a false belief that their Todai (or other) pedigree gives them a license to pontificate.

Bureaucrats of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your jobs for life and index-linked pensions!

Now that they're pushing 30 maybe they're thinking there must be more to life than this mind-numbingly tedious job; they're wrong, of course.

What a sad, cynical conclusion! But borscht has correctly diagnosed their materialistic motives in aiming for a lifetime's servitude as bureaucrats. At least some of them will ultimately succeed in breaking free and finding a more meaningful livelihood. Could there be a quiet revolution of values now taking place in the hearts and minds of young Japanese people that will lead to a transformation of society in future. This covid pandemic might possibly accelerate social changes that are long overdue. The glass is still half full!

Career changes should be seen as a normal thing - that said, I'd think twice in a private sector organisation at hiring an ex-government worker. Much higher price to pay for failure and not meeting targets when you're working for a company.

Surely these guys aren't worth much in their 30s - no clout, yet, and certainly few transferrable skills.

Bluntly, no they won't!!!

Of male bureaucrats aged under 30, 14.7 percent of respondents said they are preparing to leave their current jobs or thinking about quitting in one to three years, the survey by the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs showed.

To fully appreciate the difference between the public and private sectors, is an understanding that the private sector there is no safety net for bureaucratic paper shuffling.

One out of seven young Japanese male bureaucrats under 30 intends to quit within a few years, according to a recent government survey.

Within a few years?

It does not take a few years to realize, as a civil servant, the only direct advancement is if your supervisor, another step on the ladder, happens to unfortunately choke on his mochi, or inadvertently fall under a tram.

You can only sell yourself once into mind numbing drudgery, I'm guessing the respondents will suck it up and in 20 years with bushy eyebrows bow and apologise for their stupidity. Then wonder where their life went...

Those bonuses and pay raises are impossible to pass up once you are hooked; only 6 more months till a bonus, can't quit yet.

The difference between the age ranges is huge! I think it's just them regretting having to do actual work after 4 years of frolicking around at a 'university

Maybe Japanese universities are not as demanding but in my own experience, earning my BA and MA were far more difficult than any job I have had outside of active duty in the military.

A regular council meeting with over 100 people.

A meeting that makes no progress. Let's cut the number of parliamentarians and do it with 10

quit in a few years

What is this few years nonsense? Just do it now. Get ahead of the curve.

1 in 7 young bureaucrats in Japan intend to quit

So 6 out of 7 want to stay? Thanks for the life changing information.

"We will try to make their jobs more attractive so that they can stay for many years."

Really? It's real simple. Everyone knows what needs to change, just no one is changing any of it.

Let's cut the number of parliamentarians and do it with 10

Say you have a nation with a population of 130 million and 100 members in their parliament. That means each member of parliament represents 1.3 million people. Now you propose to reduce that number to ten. First off, don't assume ten people are any more likely to reach a consensus that 1000. Anyone familiar with county boards of supervisors in the US, most of which only have five members, the so-called 5 little gods or 5 little emperors. County boards can be as deadlocked at bigger legislative bodies. But now you expect only ten members to represent all 130 million citizens, in effect each of those ten now represent 13 million people. That generally results in many constituent's viewpoints not being represented in parliament. LA County has five Supervisors representing almost ten million residents. There is constant agitation to expand the size of the board (requires the state constitution to be amended, not happening in my life time) because so many large constituencies are not represented on the board. What ends up happening is when you have a small number or reps like that they are captured by big money interests and are able to ignore vast swaths of their district.

It's no better in the private sector...where there's actually some degree of accountability, as well.

Risible nonsense. Private businesses are less accountable than government. I have worked for only two private businesses in my whole life that were honest. All the rest were breaking various laws, be it labor laws, cheating the customer, breaking environmental laws, you name it, and these employers expected you to break laws with them if they demanded you do so. And if you ever had the temerity to say no, what you want me to do is illegal they explode in anger and suspend or even fire you. You saw if they do that you can sue them. Easier said than done. The amount of work to prove such a case is very high, meaning a high legal bill, but the possible payouts relatively small. It isn't economical attorney's to take onesy cases of that nature so they don't. You can go to the tax and labor authorities and sometimes if you have really good evidence they can fine the employer, maybe even drive them out of businesses but revenge doesn't pay the rent or put food on the table. My married co-workers all just sucked it up, broke laws left and right and said nothing, fearing losing their jobs. There is zero accountability in private enterprise. ZERO. Owners do what they like and buy off politicians to look the other way while they do it. Public service has been the only form of employment in my experience where honesty was expected, even demanded and dishonesty punished in any meaningful way.

Japan is still a nation where government workers are paid less than private sector and below the equivalent salaries of other developed nations. I'm not surprised to read this.

A popular career path now is to work for the government, then use the contacts later when in the private sector. Not unreasonable.

Their wages are less but their position of power and special "perks" (corruption) are far exceeding those of private workers.

There are only two types of wealthy people in Japan: Yakuza and bureaucrats. Except Yakuzas have been on verge of extinction, while bureaucrats are prospering.

Their wages are less but their position of power and special "perks" (corruption) are far exceeding those of private workers.

There are only two types of wealthy people in Japan: Yakuza and bureaucrats. Except Yakuzas have been on verge of extinction, while bureaucrats are prospering.

Sigh. While there are certainly opportunities for corruption among elected politicians, a situation true in every nation, there are few opportunities to enrich oneself in the civil service. By and large public servants in most countries are honest. There are exceptions, Mexico, Philippines, China (China runs on patronage and the red envelope), most advanced democracies have non-corrupt and non-political public servants. If a public servant appears to be living beyond what their salary would justify it always draws attention from law enforcement. IF a mid level civil engineer in a medium sized city is driving around in a brand new Mercedes and taking expensive foreign holidays twice a year with their family to their summer home abroad something is up and people who matter start asking questions. The big perk of public service isn't the wage you earn while working as it is often below that of the private sector and especially so for jobs that require specific university degrees, if you stay for twenty years or more the retirement is usually better than what the private sector offers.

And btw, I reckon Soichiro Honda, Konosuke Matsushita, Kiichiro Toyoda, Iwasaki Itaro and the like all died poor since all they did was start major international manufacturing firms and never were public servants or yakuza. In reality those industrial pioneers had more wealth than any ten yakuza.

Japan needs to be more efficient, fire 4 of the remaining 6.