ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the public policy process in Japan, including the role of citizen participation. The development of public policy processes that resulted in both significant leverage and consensus is perhaps the unique contribution of the Japanese experience. The chapter describes salient features of the Japanese process, which was long characterized as dominated by an elite bureaucracy and political groups. It outlines changes in public policy processes after the central government's reorganization in 2001. Elected parliament members and local governments acquired significant influence in agenda setting and policy implementation. The last model to approach the Japanese public policy process is the process perspective, which mainly focuses on the policy cycle process from a management perspective. Public policy processes in Japan have long been characterized as bureaucracy-dominated decision making, mainly due to the country's historical evolution and mandarin administrative culture. The national elite bureaucracy's influences on the public policy process reached the policy process in local governments.
