Shugo Shinohara: Public Administration of Lines and Colors

2023/04/26

Japanese public administration has developed an academic system different from the public administration presented in English academic journals, based on its own unique history and institutions. Some scholars call this "domestic public administration." Having studied public administration in the United States, I always find it challenging to convey the differences between domestic and international public administration to my students.

After finishing the fall semester recently, I visited the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. My purpose was to see an exhibition by French artist Yves Klein. Klein was a Japanophile who earned a black belt in judo from the Kodokan, but he passed away in 1962 at the age of 34 due to a heart attack. I was struck by how Klein pursued the relationship between mind and body through judo and advocated for art liberated by color from art bounded by lines.

While art appreciation is a hobby, it gives me new ideas for my research and teaching in public administration. On this day as well, inspired by Klein's concepts of lines and colors, I felt I could better express the differences between Japanese and English public administration.

Japanese public administration is often taught in the Faculty of Law, including at Keio and the University of Tokyo, and has a strong tendency toward "lines." It draws lines through laws and organizations across various administrative areas such as healthcare, education, and public safety, aiming for efficient management. Domestic public administration, systematized by a framework of lines, is well-suited to written exams, which are the primary method for recruiting civil servants in Japan. Exam categories are established based on the framework, and applicants prepare by learning a specific range of knowledge corresponding to those categories. On the other hand, recent international public administration focuses on the nature of humans within the framework and has a strong tendency toward "colors."

For example, there is active research on representative bureaucracy, which seeks to reflect the diverse "colors" of humans—such as gender and race—in administrative organizations. It aims for democratic administrative management by hiring civil servants in proportions similar to the population ratios of men, women, and LGBTQ individuals. Civil servants under a representative bureaucracy are required not only to have expertise in their administrative field but also to demonstrate behaviors and attitudes that respect diversity, necessitating recruitment methods such as interviews.

It is impossible to provide administrative services in an organized and efficient manner without appropriate "lines" for broad administration. However, by discovering diverse humans within the framework of lines and allowing for some "colors" that spill over those lines, perhaps public administration can make human society even richer.