NIRA News, No.9 September 2005

[Research Trends]

[New Research Projects]

* Research on the "Government Documents Management Law (tentative title)" (I)

Japan lacks a unified legal system concerning the management of government documents, which serve as the basic system supporting the nation's accountability and democracy. In comparison to other nations, including the U.S. and U.K., this is an extremely inadequate situation from the perspective of appropriate provision of policy information. In other words, the nation of Japan lacks the faculty to document the government's activities and keep records.

Recognizing this, this research project explores the optimal "government documents management law" necessary for Japan in the twenty-first century with reference to similar laws adopted by other nations. The desired law is a unified legislation that stipulates in detail government document management including drafting, management and preservation, and archiving.

The first phase of the project, which will continue until the end of this year, will focus on basic issues constituting the law, and the results will be summarized. With these as a base, the second phase of the project will be conducted next year aiming to explore the details of the "government document management law" (tentative title) and then present it as a proposal.

* Comprehensive Strategy for Improving "Total Human Capacity" (I)

In order for Japan to continue enhancing the total capacity of the nation and the citizenry in light of the trend of increasing globalization and decreasing population, it must endeavor to compensate for the population decrease, namely a decline in quantity, by improving the quality of its citizens. This means that every Japanese citizen must strive to improve his/her intellect and moral character.

Consequently, this research project examines the optimal social system necessary to improve an individual's total capacity focusing on an approach from the perspective of a "subjective individual citizen who endeavors to implement self-actualization."

To be more precise, this research will examine issues such as the optimal system for providing education, lifelong learning and job training to families, companies and society as a whole, and the course for efforts aimed at implementing an environment in which citizens can take active part. Citizens then will be able to acquire high ethical standards and make full use of their potential in a wide range of fields such as industry, public policy and culture. In addition, discussions will be developed concerning measures to foster and to utilize outstanding personnel who are globally minded. These citizens are expected to actively present their opinions concerning ideal international rules and introduce Japanese culture to the international community.

This project, which is the first phase of this research, will be developed based on a three-year plan.

* Cultivation of Citizens in the Regions

After carefully examining the candidates from the public call for proposals for "NIRA subsidized research in general fields for fiscal 2005", the joint research project conducted by the Hokkaido Research Institute for the Twenty-First Century and two other institutes was selected as the winner.

This research project aims to formulate policy proposals on model measures and activities contributing to "cultivating personnel" from the perspective of education, study, job training and policies designed to foster and utilize personnel, which then will be presented to the central and local governments. The research will focus on the "cultivation of personnel in the tourism sector," a field requiring new policies and measures to respond to changing social needs. Case studies such as the "outdoor qualification system" introduced by Hokkaido prefecture and Wakayama University's plan to establish a tourism department will be examined focusing on process and methodology. Based on these data, the status of and issues facing "personnel cultivation" will be analyzed from the perspective of the distribution of functions and cooperation among the various entities (administration, educational institution and business). The results will be categorized into issues that are region-specific and those that can be generalized. The feasibility of applying strategies and measures designed to cultivate personnel in the tourism sector to other fields, will also be examined.

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