Amakudari & Watari

Two types of post-government employment in Japan, both associated with corruption.

In an echo of Barack Obama’s (troubled) attempt to halt the revolving door between government and the private sector, The Japan Times reported that Prime Minister Taro Aso planned “to effectively ban ministries and agencies from being go-betweens in finding amakudari and watari jobs for their retiring officials.”

Amakudari, often deemed a source of corruption, is the practice of senior bureaucrats landing postretirement jobs at entities related to the sectors they formerly supervised.

Watari is the practice of retired bureaucrats landing successive posts in semigovernmental bodies for short stints and walking away from each with a lucrative retirement package.

Japan’s Daily Yomiuri noted that “amid a rapid deterioration in the employment situation, criticism of government officials has been intensifying,” and reported on an alleged case of watari where one state official had taken up six nongovernment posts related to his former job, earning 325 million yen ($3.5 million).