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Ministry of Finance (Japan)

Coordinates:35°40′23″N139°44′56″E/ 35.673°N 139.749°E/35.673; 139.749
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This article is about the Ministry of Financeafter 1889.For other uses, seeMinistry of the Treasury (Ritsuryō).
Ministry of Finance
Tài vụ tỉnh
Zaimushō

Ministry of Finance building
Agency overview
FormedJune 1, 2001(2001-06-01)
Preceding agency
  • Ministry of Finance(Đại tàng tỉnh,Ōkura-shō)(until 2001)
JurisdictionGovernment of Japan
Headquarters3-1-1Kasumigaseki,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,Japan〒100-8940
Ministers responsible
Child agency
Websitemof.go.jp

TheMinistry of Finance(Tài vụ tỉnh,Zaimu-shō)is one of thecabinet-level ministries of theJapanese government.The ministry was named theŌkura-shō(Đại tàng tỉnh)until 2001. The Ministry is headed by theMinister of Finance(Tài vụ đại thần,Zaimu-daijin),who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of theDietby thePrime Minister.

Overview

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Ministry of Finance entrance
Bond of Japan, issued 15 May 1910, vignette with Fudschijama

The Ministry originated in the 6th century, when the Ōkura(Đại tàng)was established as astate treasuryin ancient Japan. When a modern system of government was introduced after theMeiji Restoration,the Ministry of Finance(Đại tàng tỉnh,Ōkura-shō)was established as a government body in charge of public finance and monetary affairs. It is said that new ministry employees are subtly reminded that the Ōkura-shō predates by some 1269 years when the new Constitution was imposed on the nation by the U.S. occupation forces in 1947.[1]

The Ministry has long been regarded as the most powerful ministry in theJapanese government.After various financial scandals revealed in the 1990s, however, the Ministry lost its power over banking supervision to a newly establishedFinancial Services Agency.It also lost most of its control over monetary policy to theBank of Japanwhen the Diet passed a new Bank of Japan Law in 1998. In addition, it lost its ancient Japanese name when it was renamed the Zaimu-shō(Tài vụ tỉnh)in January 2001, although its English name remained the same.[2]

In financial markets, the Ministry is famous for its active foreign exchange policy. Its top civil servant on the international side,Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs,is often quoted in the financial press. Former Vice MinisterEisuke Sakakibarawas known as "Mr Yen", whereas his successorsHaruhiko KurodaandZenbei Mizoguchiwere often referred to as "Mr. Asian Currency" and "Mr. Dollar", respectively.

Organizational structure

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The Customs and Tariff Bureau (Customs flagshown) is one of the divisions of the Ministry.

The Ministry is organized in six bureaus that provide the overall functions of the ministry:[3]

Independent Administrative Institutions

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SixIndependent Administrative Institutionsare under the Ministry's control:

Incidents

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  • In 1998, four officials at the ministry were arrested and 112 disciplined for accepting bribes in the form of visits to ano-pan shabu-shaburestaurant in Shinjuku.[4]
  • In March 2018 Toshio Akagi, an employee of the ministry's Kinki Local Finance Bureau, committed suicide after being forced to tamper with documents related to the sale of government owned land to school operatorMoritomo Gakuen,a transaction defended by the ministry despite the resulting scandal.[5][6]His wife began collecting signatures online for a petition to investigate the truth about Akagi's suicide. As of 2020,she had gathered around 290,000 signatures.[7][8]
  • On May 20, 2022, the deputy vice minister for policy planning and coordination in the Ministry of Finance was arrested for beating and kicking a fellow passenger on a train inTokyo.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Lamont-Brown, Raymond. "The Ministry: The Inside Story of Japan's Ministry of Finance – a book review",Contemporary Review.August 1998.]
  2. ^Machidori, S. (2023). Political Reform Reconsidered: The Trajectory of a Transformed Japanese State. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  3. ^"Functions".Ministry of Finance.Retrieved2017-02-12.
  4. ^https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/entertainment-at-lurid-shabu-shabu-establishment-got-bankers-bureaucrats-in-hot-water
  5. ^"Bureaucrat's widow asks PM to look into Moritomo Gakuen scandal that led to her husband's suicide".The Japan Times.2021-10-07.Retrieved2023-05-08.
  6. ^McNeill, David."An ultranationalist school, a suicide and a wife on a quest for the truth".The Irish Times.Retrieved2023-05-08.
  7. ^https://www.nnn.co.jp/dainichi/news/200402/20200402022.html[dead link]
  8. ^"Sâm hữu ・ văn thư cải ざん tái điều tra cầu める thự danh 30 vạn nhân đột phá へ điện thông quá 労 tự sát の di tộc も tán đồng"[Morimoto document forgery - More than 30000 signatories demand re-investigation - Relatives of the Dentsu Karoshi case endorse it].mainichi.jp.2020-04-16. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-09-27.
  9. ^"Senior Japan ministry official arrested for alleged assault on train".The Japan Times.20 May 2022.Retrieved7 October2022.

Further reading

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35°40′23″N139°44′56″E/ 35.673°N 139.749°E/35.673; 139.749

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