In bulldozer fashion, Japan's Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is trying to force through plans to convert large numbers of national research institutes and possibly some universities into semi-autonomous corporations or ‘agencies’ by threatening to cut the budgets of those that do not comply by 30% (see page 7). If Obuchi's zeal were driven primarily by a proper understanding of the need to make Japan's universities and national institutes more accountable, more independent and more performance driven, his move should be applauded. Sadly, that does not seem to be the case.

Rather, his prime motivation seems to be to go one up in the public eye over his more charismatic predecessor Ryutaro Hashimoto, who initiated the administrative reform, by converting as many as 100 government institutions into ‘agencies’, so that the new administration can claim to have trimmed the government significantly.

So determined is Obuchi to achieve this goal that national institutions are reportedly being offered the carrot that if they convert to ‘agencies’ they can keep exactly the same budgets and staffing arrangements as they currently have. As one top official from a leading national research institution wryly observes, he would prefer to stay within the government's fiefdom, have the institution's budget cut by 30% and thereby have the grounds to clear out some of the dead wood among the staff that he has wanted to remove for years.

But the cuts seem unlikely to materialize. Preservation of budgets is the raison d'être of all bureaucrats in Japan's science-related ministries and agencies. Most government researchers want to maintain the status quo, and even some of Obuchi's colleagues in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are openly expressing doubts about the reform plan. Much-needed change in Japan's government research system is likely to remain elusive.