The role of policy advisors in regional development policies: The case of Japan

Despite an abundance of research on two core groups of policy actors, namely bureaucrats and politicians, there is still limited understanding of the role of advisors in the policymaking process. This is particularly true in the case of Japan. By focusing on the field of regional development policy, this paper seeks to explore the role of advisory actors in Japan. In doing so, two questions will be investigated: 1) who are policy advisors in Japan? and 2) what are their functions? Drawing on empirical data collected through online and onsite interviews, written responses, and field observations in Tokyo, this paper identifies three categories of policy advisors in Japan: 1) external experts, including officially recognized government advisors and those assuming informal advisory roles for the government, 2) policy secretaries for politicians, and 3) policy consultants working in private consulting companies. Most advisors also take on multiple roles simultaneously or move between the categories in different career stages. This highlights the potential issues of revolving-door and conflict of interests. The paper also finds that most advisors are active in the early stages of the policy cycle, namely agenda-setting and policy formulation, while some advisors prefer getting involved in policy implementation. Next, the results indicate that in Japan policy consultants who advise (or lobby) the government on behalf of private companies and policy secretaries for politicians may have relatively more influence in influencing policies than academics and external experts. First, as private policy consultants work in teams, they have the advantage of both expertise, connections, and financial resources. Second, as Japanese politicians are often concerned with winning elections, policy secretaries tend to gain de-facto legislative powers.