Financial Risk:
Low
Score:
79/100
Asset Disposals
Q24
42/100
How effective are controls over the disposal of assets, and is information on these disposals, and the proceeds of their sale, transparent?
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The evidence indicates that there is a clear regulatory process for the disposal of assets, as well as an internal audit. However, the regulatory…
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A search of the websites of the mainstream newspapers Asahi [1] and Yomiuri, [2] of the Ministry of Defence, [3] and of several regional…
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The process of disposal follows rules that are found on the Ministry of Defence homepage, but the financial results of each case of a…
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Q25
92/100
Is independent and transparent scrutiny of asset disposals conducted by defence establishments, and are the reports of such scrutiny publicly available?
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The administration of the disposal of assets is explained in the answer to Q24A. After the end of the fiscal year, the Ministry of…
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Both the Board of Audit of Japan and the Diet of Japan have powers that strengthen their independence. The Board of Audit is guaranteed…
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Audit reports are posted in a database on the website of the Board of Audit, [1] including audit reports on the annual accounts, [2]…
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Secret Budgets
Q26
100/100
What percentage of defence and security expenditure in the budget year is dedicated to spending on secret items relating to national security and the intelligence services?
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A detailed breakdown of the annual budgets of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is found on their websites.…
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Q27
75/100
Is the legislature (or the appropriate legislative committee or members of the legislature) given full information for the budget year on the spending of all secret items relating to national security and military intelligence?
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The Designated State Secrets Law, established in 2013, introduced uniform guidelines for classification of information in defense, diplomacy, counterespionage and counterterrorism. The law states…
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Q28
50/100
Are audit reports of the annual accounts of the security sector (the military and intelligence services) subject to parliamentary debate?
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The audit of the accounts for fiscal year 2017 is representative of the way such audit is conducted. The Ministry of Finance received reports…
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Whereas the House of Representatives takes leadership when it comes to making the budget, the House of Councillors conducts a more extensive review of…
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Q29
100/100
In law, are off-budget military expenditures permitted, and if so, are they exceptional occurrences that are well-controlled? In practice, are there any off-budget military expenditures? If so, does evidence suggest this involves illicit economic activity?
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Articles 83 and 86 of the Constitution of Japan are interpreted to the effect that the fiscal budget, including all income and expenditure, is…
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As there are no off-budget military expenditures in Japan, there is no recording mechanism for off-budget expenditures either. The Base Grant / Coordination Grant…
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There are no off-budget military expenditures in Japan (see Q29A). [1] [2] All military expenditure is covered by the fiscal budget. However, some non-military…
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Q30
63/100
Are mechanisms for accessing information from the defence sector effective?
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The website of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) gives information on several items of legislation and implementing guidelines about information access. One of its…
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets has provided guidelines for classifying…
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A MOD webpage provides clear information on how to apply for information access and has the forms that one must fill out to do…
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Q31
100/100
Do national defence and security institutions have beneficial ownership of commercial businesses? If so, how transparent are details of the operations and finances of such businesses?
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Maintaining a domestic defence production base has been a goal for Japan since the 1950s. Japanese defence manufacturing has been embedded within civilian companies…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because national defence and security institutions do not have beneficial ownership of commercial businesses in Japan (see…
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Military-owned Businesses
Q32
100/100
Are military-owned businesses subject to transparent independent scrutiny at a recognised international standard?
View QuestionIllegal Private Enterprise
Q33
88/100
Is there evidence of unauthorised private enterprise by military or other defence ministry employees? If so, what is the government’s reaction to such enterprise?
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According to Article 60 of the Self-Defence Forces Law, where other legal provisions do not contract this, Self-Defence Force (SDF) personnel must use all…
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A search of two mainstream newspapers from January 1, 2016 – September 20, 2019 uncovered four cases of Self-Defence Force staff being punished for…
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Actual Military Spending
Q77
56/100
Is comprehensive data on actual spending on defence published during the budget year?
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According to the Public Finance Law, the Government must, at least every third month, report to the Diet and the population on the actual…
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The Ministry of Defence (MOD) sends monthly financial statements of income and expenditures to the Ministry of Finance, which aggregates this data into tables…
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Details of actual spending for the fiscal year 2018 were published on the website of the House of Representatives on September 6, 2019. [1]…
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The variance between the published budget and actual spending is clearly shown in the tables for actual spending during fiscal year 2018. Some reasons…
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