Japan overhauls government

The power of the prime minster will be increased

The Japanese Government has undergone "drastic" restructuring, with the number of ministries cut almost in half and the power of the prime minister increased.

The changes are designed to increase efficiency and boost the power of politicians at the expense of bureaucrats.

Old wine is being poured into a new wineskin

Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori compared the changes to major moments in Japanese history, including the restoration of the emperor in 1868 and the surrender that ended the Second World War.

But critics said the changes were cosmetic, and would simply change the level at which bureaucratic infighting takes place.

Consensus controversy

The Japanese Government has been criticised in the past for relying on consensus rather than leadership, and for allowing bureaucrats too much control over policy.

The changes in brief

Health and Welfare and Labour ministries combined into one

Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications ministries and Management Coordination Agency combined into one

Construction and Transport ministries and Land Agency combined into one

Environment Agency upgraded to ministry

Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) renamed

Prime Minister Mori essentially admitted as much in his statement announcing the overhaul.

"Japan's social and economic systems, which have supported the nation's development in the 20th century, are facing difficulties in dealing appropriately with changes in domestic and international situations", Mr Mori said.

The new structure strengthens the prime minister, especially by making him head of a new committee that will draft the state budget.

That task used to be carried out by the powerful Finance Ministry, which has lost significant clout in the shake-up.

Other changes that increase the prime minister's authority include reinforcement of his cabinet office and the creation of new "state ministers".

Numbers reduced

The total number of ministries will be reduced to 13 from 23, with many ministries being rolled into new mega-ministries with wide-ranging portfolios.

Still the same

No change to ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture

Defence Agency and Public Safety Commission also unchanged

One of the key goals of the restructuring is to reduce the number of turf wars between rival bureaucrats at different ministries.

Those battles are widely believed to slow down policy-making and increase costs.

But pessimists said combining ministries would merely make the bureaucratic battles intra-ministry ones rather than inter-ministry.

"Old wine is being poured into a new wineskin", the economic daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun said of the restructuring.

And Nobuo Tomita, a professor of politics at Meiji University, told the French AFP news agency that the reforms "merely result in a change of ministry names."