National Personnel Authority head to quit

TOKYO, Sept. 10 Kyodo -
National Personnel Authority President Masahito Tani said Thursday he has
offered to resign and that his decision is not linked to the election victory
of the Democratic Party of Japan, which intends to reduce the power of
bureaucrats under the incoming government.
Tani said he submitted a letter of resignation to the Cabinet on Aug. 11,
nearly three weeks before the general election, with the intention of quitting
now that wage reforms concerning state government employees have made headway.
He also cited the completion of procedures at his authority for carrying out
the task of proposing salaries and bonuses for national public servants for the
current fiscal year, with calls for cuts in both.
''I made this decision based on personal beliefs and I would be annoyed if you
think that it was politically motivated,'' said Tani, who is expected to resign
officially on Friday.
In January, Tani sparked controversy after refusing to send personnel to a
meeting of the government led by the Liberal Democratic Party on reforms of
Japan's national public service system. At the time he was opposed to the
Cabinet's initiative to integrate some functions of the organization into a new
body called the Cabinet personnel and administrative management bureau.
''That move caused trouble and suited neither my beliefs nor taste, so I began
to think about leaving this post,'' Tani said, adding he has no intention of
trying to be hired by any other public entity. Tani took his current post in
2006 and was reappointed last year.
==Kyodo