MITI and the Japanese miracle

Page 39

TABLE

2

Changes in the Size of the Japanese Electorate, 18901969

Election

Date

Qualified voters (millions)

Population (millions)

Percent

Voting requirements

1

July 1, 1890

.45

39.9

1.3%

Males, over 25, who pay more than ¥15 in direct, national taxes

^a

7

August 10, 1902

.98

45.0

2.18

Same, except ¥10 in direct taxes

14

May 10, 1920

3.1

55.5

5.50

Same, except ¥3 in direct taxes

16

February 20, 1928

12.4

62.1

19.98

Same, except tax requirement abolished

22

April 10, 1946

36.9

75.8

48.65

All men and women

20 years and

above

25

October 1, 1952

46.8

85.9

54.45

Same

29

November 20, 1960

54.3

93.2

58.30

Same

30

November 21, 1963

58.3

95.8

60.82

Same

31

January 29, 1967

63.0

99.8

63.11

Same

32

December 27, 1969

69.3

102.7

67.47

Same

SOURCE

: Isomura Eiichi, ed.,

Gyosei

*

saishin mondai jiten

(Dictionary of current administrative problems), Tokyo, 1972, p. 705.

^a

¥15 was the equivalent of about U.S. $12.30 in 1890. Since it was paid as a direct tax it meant, in essence, that only property owners or the wealthy could vote.

their view, this constitutes "administration through law," which is different from the "rule of law."

¹⁵

In addition to their status, the bureaucrats of modern Japan also inherited from the samurai something comparable to their code of ethics and their elite consciousness. Kanayama Bunji draws attention to the frank elitism and sense of meritocracy associated in contemporary Japan with young men (and a few women) who pass the incredibly competitive Higher-level Public Officials Examination and then enter a ministry. He cites the long hours of work they are expected to perform without complaint, their being sent abroad for postgraduate education in elite universities, the theme of "sacrifice for the public good" that runs through most ministries, and the lectures to new recruits during their early years in a ministry by their "seniors," including those who have retired from public service and have moved to powerful positions in industry or politics. He believes that these customs add up to a "way of the bureaucrat" (

kanryodo

*) comparable to