July 31, 2017
The following is a continuation of the preceding chapter.
“My motto is ‘outward obedience and inner defiance.’
As a bureaucrat, one needs to possess the skills and aptitude for outward obedience and inner defiance.”
I was utterly appalled when Mr. Maekawa made this declaration on a TV Asahi programme on June 1.
The head of Japan’s education administration, who was responsible for teaching the significance of learning and morality to the children and students who will carry the future, was not only an enthusiast of adult-entertainment establishments but was also asserting that one should agree with others to their faces and then complain about or criticise them behind their backs.
Indeed, while serving as administrative vice-minister, he voiced no opposition to Prime Minister Abe or senior officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, but began criticising them only after resigning with a retirement allowance amounting to tens of millions of yen.
That may be a textbook example of putting outward obedience and inner defiance into practice, but is it really something to boast about on television?
Even if, for the sake of argument, bureaucrats need the skills of outward obedience and inner defiance, what exactly did he mean by “an aptitude for outward obedience and inner defiance”?
An aptitude is an innate quality, but no bureaucrat born with a natural disposition toward outward obedience and inner defiance could possibly be trusted.
To be continued.