Moving towards loosening regulation

　Bureaucracy is a single word, but it is colored by a variety of different government offices. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is the final authority in weighing the pros and cons and determining the budget for every other government office. It smilingly bends its ears to petitioners and ruthlessly collects head. METI is a band of hunters, opening new divisions lacking in any authority. They are a prosperous people with eternal venture spirit. 
　I originally hail from the MIC, myself. The MIC managed the postal system, as well. Salesmen bowing their heads as they hawk ten yen stamps. Legwork is more important than brainwork. Wandering to and fro across the land with a lumbering walk. It did wonders for my complexion.  
　I worked exclusively managing communication policy. Making data transmission freer, negotiations concerning the US, internet policy. I was doing nothing but deregulation. You would think that Japan’s bureaucracy would be aware of the fact that it needed to let go of some regulation, but this was not the case.
　Japan’s policy on telecommunication underwent a progression of deregulation in the 90s, until ours was the least regulated system in the world. This had less to do with the national interest than it did with bringing publicity and recognition to the system itself. 
　By letting go of authority, they were able to stimulate the private sector and were supported by both media and industry. This in turn ensured high evaluations for the people in charge and offered benefits in terms of human resources as well. In the end, such motivations became the driving force behind deregulation. 
　I was one of the people in charge of implementing deregulation, but certain divisions within the office were pursuing the policy with such abandon that one wanted to tell them, “Enough already!” and that they have to stop. 

　This is a point often misunderstood, but, because deregulation if fundamentally the elimination of rights already held, from a logistical standpoint it tends, in many cases, to result in a large workload than strengthening regulations does.
　After taking the decisive step towards deregulation, things would go forward as long as the people in charge were poised to gain a boost to their reputations. Conversely, even if the office fell under criticism, the only result would be pulling away from the public eye. We need a reliable mechanism to evaluate the offices responsible for the work.