"Descent from Heaven" Jobs Posted at 4/01/2009 12:47:00 PM 0 comments (+)

TOKYO—Japan plans to ban retired bureaucrats from moving into jobs with companies they once supervised, an official said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Taro Aso's cabinet has approved an ordinance to outlaw the practice, known as amakudari or "descent from heaven", which has been widely criticized for strengthening murky ties between powerful bureaucrats and the companies and groups under their watch.

I saw this article entitled "Japan to ban ‘descent from heaven’ jobs" at the website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and I got curious as to what kind of job it refers to. So I went ahead and read the news article but it was still vague to me so I googled it and here's what I found out:

Amakudari ("descent from heaven") is the institutionalized practice where Japanese senior bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in the private and public sectors. The practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt and a drag on unfastening the ties between private sector and state which prevent economic and political reforms.

Now, that's a new tidbit of knowledge for me! :)

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