by Ngo Tu Thanh (Frank Tu)

In my previous blog post, I have shown that the lack of resources and politicians’ attention to elections creates room for other policy actors to step in. A group of actors that carries sway in making rural revitalization policies is external experts who advise the government. In Japan, there are two types of external advisors who advise the government: officially recognized government advisors and informal government advisors. In this blog post, I will explore the roles and profiles of officially recognized government advisors.

Officially recognized government advisors are experts acknowledged by the Japanese government to advise on rural revitalization among many other policy fields. In the field of rural revitalization policies, these experts specialize in various fields such as tourism promotion, transportation, attracting young people to the countryside, marketing or digital transformation. As of April 2023, there were 531 officially recognized Advisors for Regional Vitality (Chiiki ryokusōzō adobaizā) at the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC 2023). They are compensated with public funds and play a critical role in providing valuable insights and recommendations to the government.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) – the patron of MIC Advisors for Regional Vitality
Copyright © Ngo Tu Thanh 2022

During my fieldwork, I had the chance to talk to several officially recognized government advisors. They have diverse educational backgrounds and professional experiences. The majority of advisors hold at least an undergraduate degree. Most of the advisors have extensive leadership experience. All advisors I have talked to are leaders within their respective organizations, some serving as directors and/or presidents of their companies, others holding top leadership roles in several NPOs. These leadership roles provide advisors with the necessary skills and experience to make sound recommendations to the government. However, this raises concerns about conflicts of interest, as advisors might push for policies that benefit their businesses. Advisors also have extensive experience working with various government ministries and agencies at both national and local levels, as well as hands-on experience in regional revitalization projects. One advisor I talked to has served as the Chief Digital Officer in a prefectural government and advised government agencies such as the Cabinet Office and the Digital Agency on various issues, including regional revitalization, gender equality, immigration and depopulation. Another advisor previously worked as a policy bureau member of a large municipal government and was a member in the Tourism Strategy Implementation Task Force of the Cabinet Office. She has also been involved in various theater planning and art policy promotion initiatives. Yet another advisor has created promotional videos for government organizations such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and MIC.

This is the office of an NPO where an advisor works as leader
Copyright © Ngo Tu Thanh 2022

Testimonies from the government advisors show that they have a rather limited influence on policy agendas but may have sway in providing technical advice. This finding supports the similar argument made by Romann (2020) that advisory committees and advisors (shingikai) might have limited influence. However, one advisor who specialized in digital transformation provided an anecdote about how he proposed ideas to eliminate fax machines to Digital Minister Konō Tarō in a meeting; the Minister agreed, and his ministry actually implemented a similar strategy a few months later. This particular advisor has been known as a proactive leader who also wants to reform rigid administrative procedures in Japan. This indicates that when there is less conflict over the political nature of policies with key decision-makers, advisors’ technical advice may be quite influential.

In summary, government advisors offer diverse experiences and extensive knowledge of rural revitalization. Advisors can also work on policy implementation at the local level. Besides, while their influence over policy agendas may be limited, their technical advice may provide great value for policymaking at the national level, if political conditions are met.

References
Michalowitz, Irina. 2007. “What Determines Influence? Assessing Conditions for Decision-Making Influence of Interest Groups in the EU.” Journal of European Public Policy 14 (1).
MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). 2023. “Chiiki Jinzai Netto (Chiikiryoku Sōzō Adobaizā),” https://www.soumu.go.jp/ganbaru/jinzai/.Accessed April 20, 2023.
Romann, Eric. 2020. Nonmarket Strategy in Japan: How Foreign Firms Lobby “Inside the Castle.” Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.