Enough of make-believe bidding
(From The Japan Times Feb. 7 issue)

官製談合の真相究明を

    Arrested were a technical councilor, his predecessor and an inspection officer at the DFAA. They are charged with obstructing competitive bidding, or colluding with bidders, on projects to install air-conditioning systems at a Ground Self-Defense Force hospital and a DFAA office in Tokyo. Prosecutors suspect that the trio repeatedly used their influence for the benefit of selected bidders -- a practice known as kansei dango (bureaucrat-led prebidding collusion).

    The technical councilor, the highest-ranking technocrat of the DFAA, is the third-highest official at that agency. His arrest suggests strongly that he and his predecessors have broken the law systemically for years in return for favors from private contractors -- a much more serious crime than lower-ranking officials' embezzlement of taxpayer money for wining and dining expenses.

    After the councilor was arrested, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said: "There is an urgent need for the (DFAA) to make a fresh start -- it should even be dissolved if necessary." He said an investigative committee would get to the bottom of the bid-rigging scandal.

    The latest case of bid collusion is said to have been inspired by a desire to obtain private-sector posts for retired senior bureaucrats. During the past decade, six former DFAA officials, including technical officials, have landed cushy jobs with manufacturers of air-conditioning systems, apparently exploiting loopholes in rules that prohibit ex-bureaucrats from joining related companies -- known as amakudari -- for at least two years after retirement. One way to stamp out bid collusion is to eliminate this long-standing custom of "heavenly employment." Recent cases of bid-rigging, involving other public offices as well, show that officials in charge often worked on would-be contractors to secure post-retirement posts.

    Contributing to that custom is the fact that many ranking civil servants retire at a relatively young age, partly to make way for younger officials waiting in the wings. Therefore, to preclude amakudari, it is necessary to create a new personnel system that lets older officials remain active until the mandatory retirement age. In the case of technical officials, opportunities for promotion should be broadened and exchange programs with civilian officials expanded.

    Another factor contributing to collusive bidding is the "closed nature" of the DFAA. Some attribute kansei dango to the long-term business relationships that exist between technical officials and private companies. Confidentiality may be required on weapons contracts, such as those involving missiles, but air-conditioning systems -- which use civilian technologies -- have nothing to do with defense secrets. In principle, information on such nondefense contracts should be disclosed to improve the transparency of the organization.

    The anti-collusion law that took effect in January 2003 must be tightened. The governing and opposition parties are preparing a revision bill that would enable the Fair Trade Commission to file criminal charges for a wider range of violations.

    The latest bid-rigging scandal puts the Anti-monopoly Law on the line. The updated law, which took effect in January, imposes lower surcharges on companies that report noncompliance to the FTC while levying higher surcharges -- 10 percent of sales (6 percent previously) -- on large manufacturers that violate the law. The business community remains strongly opposed to these provisions, and this could be one reason why authorities in a position to award contracts appear reluctant to abolish the practice of collusive bidding.

    On Jan. 31, prosecutors raided the head offices of two general construction contractors, raising the possibility of a wider scandal. There may be a question of bribery. Prosecutors have searched the office of a construction materials company headed by a former secretary to a Lower House member. Although he has denied involvement, the one-time political aide is suspected of acting as a mediator between manufacturers and the DFAA. Investigators must unravel the whole truth.

The Japan Times Weekly
Feb. 11, 2006
(C) All rights reserved

    競争入札妨害容疑で逮捕された技術審議官、その前任者、施設調査官は、自衛隊中央病院と防施庁本庁舎の空調工事について業者間の談合を仕切ったとされる。

    額賀防衛庁長官は、問題に関する特別調査委員会は真相を追究するとした上で、防施庁の「解体的な出直しが急務」と述べた。

    今回の談合は、防施庁幹部が自分たちの天下りポストを確保するのが目的だったといわれる。過去10年間に、同庁幹部6人が空調メーカーに天下りしている。談合を撲滅するひとつの方法は、天下りの慣習を廃止することである。

    比較的若い高級官僚が後進に道を譲るために引退する制度も問題だ。天下りを排除するには官僚が定年まで働ける人事制度が必要になる。

    談合のもうひとつの要因は、防施庁の閉鎖的体質だ。ミサイルなどの武器調達契約は別として、空調工事などは機密性を必要としない。非軍事関係の契約情報は公開すべきだ。

    03年施行の官製談合防止法による取締りを強化するため、与野党は公正取引委員会の権限を強化する法案を準備している。

    先月施行された改正独占禁止法は、入札談合行為を公取委に自己申告した企業に対しては課徴金率を軽減し、談合行為を行った大手企業に対しては課徴金率を引き上げることを定めている。財界はこれらの規定に強く反対しており、関係官庁も談合撲滅に消極的に見える。

    ゼネコン2社も強制捜索・贈収賄疑惑と、事件は拡大しそうだ。メーカーと防施庁の仲介役を努めたとされる衆院議員元秘書経営の建築資材会社も強制捜索を受けた。真相は究明せねばならない。