In early August just before Japan entered its midsummer vacation week, some drama unfolded within Tokyo’s bureaucratic apparatus.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that an elite Finance Ministry bureaucrat was reassigned in an “unusual transfer,” quoting a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office explaining the reappointment because “He was uncooperative.” At the center of this is the Finance Ministry’s Jun Hitotsumatsu, deputy director-general of the Budget Bureau — who had been considered a future candidate for Vice Minister — being transferred to the Tokyo Customs Office.

It is highly unusual for such a senior figure in the Budget Bureau to become Commissioner of the Tokyo Customs Office. The move was reportedly driven by strong pressure from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration, following clashes with Hitotsumatsu over the proposed consumption tax cut and fiscal restructuring. Anyone who immediately grasps the significance of this news is likely quite knowledgeable about Japan.

However, not only general readers from overseas, but even members of the foreign diplomatic corps in Tokyo may not fully understand the implications. That is because the Asahi’s report on this “unprecedented personnel move” may not necessarily be telling the entire story.

As someone who served in Japan’s bureaucracy, I’ve seen firsthand the tug-of-war between civil servants and politicians in Tokyo.

The Asahi report is as follows: Hitotsumatsu joined the Finance Ministry in 1995 and, after serving in the Budget Bureau, where social security budget issues are handled, he held various positions, including secretary to then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

He was rumored to be a “once-in-a-decade heavyweight finance bureaucrat.” But since last year, as deputy........

© The Japan Times