Behind the Scenes of Minister Ryosei Akazawa’s Manual for Consideration on Water and Toilets

Prime Minister Ishiba’s Closest of Close Aides

A “Request from Minister Akazawa’s Office” is currently the talk of the town in Nagatacho and Kasumigaseki.

Akazawa is Ryosei Akazawa, 64, minister in charge of economic revitalization. His constituency is Tottori 2, next to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (67). He is said to be the prime minister’s “closest aide” and “tranquilizer.

Mr. Akazawa also supported Mr. Ishiba in the September presidential election as secretary general and played a central role in the Ishiba campaign. He has a minister’s office in the Cabinet Office across the street from the prime minister’s residence, but he also has a room on the fifth floor, the same floor as the prime minister’s office in the prime minister’s residence.

He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, a career MLIT official, and one of Koizumi’s so-called “Koizumi children,” who were first elected in the “Postal Service Dissolution” of 2005. Because of his proximity to Mr. Ishiba, he had long been a nonmainstream member of the Koizumi administration, serving only as deputy minister, but when he first joined the Ishiba cabinet, he became outspoken, saying, ‘I will support the Ishiba administration’ and ‘Let me go through first.

 

Since Mr. Ishiba has long been a nonmajoritarian, he has few people around him who can be considered his “right-hand man” or “close associate. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (67), Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (67), Policy Research Council Chairman Itsunori Onodera (64), and General Affairs Minister Seiichiro Murakami (72) are the main members supporting Ishiba, with Akazawa being the most prominent.

Akazawa’s “tricks of the trade” are as follows.

(Watering down the minister)
〇Please fill the water container for the minister, especially at the Budget Committee meetings.

(Assistance in re-seating ministers after leaving a committee meeting to go to the restroom, etc.)
(Support for the minister’s re-seating after leaving a committee meeting due to using the restroom, etc.) We would appreciate it if you could wait near their seats, but even if it is difficult to guide them to their seats due to the presence of all ministers, etc., we would like to ask you to wait at least until the entrance of the committee room.

Speaking of user manuals, there was a bit of a stir in 2019 when a user manual was circulated detailing how to deal with former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (69), who was the then Secretary-General.

Even buying dinner is now in the manual.

Toshimitsu Motegi, who also ran in the September leadership election.

The content reveals the bureaucrats’ earnest efforts to anticipate the needs of the minister.

When compared to the manuals of the two previous figures, the instructions for Minister Akazawa, which have caused a stir in Nagatacho, seem more tolerable. However, statements like “Please guide the minister as close as possible to their seat upon arrival” and notes regarding preparing water and guiding to the restroom and seat make it seem almost like a caregiving manual.

The Evils of a “Sudden Rise to the Top”

A person familiar with Akazawa explains that there are two reasons behind the creation of this perplexing instruction manual.

“His first time as a minister, he is struggling with the detailed parliamentary procedures in the House of Councillors. For instance, regarding the water issue, in the House of Representatives, it is allowed to bring in eco-bottles filled with water or hot water, but this is not permitted in the House of Councillors. During the Budget Committee sessions in the House of Councillors, which run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., it was difficult for him to drink water regularly, so the request was made.

The same goes for the restrooms. Although the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors are in similar buildings, the locations of the restrooms are different, and the movement paths are different as well. He had to quickly use the restroom before it was his turn to answer questions, but there were concerns about moving quickly. Although Akazawa has experience as a deputy minister, a deputy minister is primarily responsible for ‘spot answers,’ and becoming a minister for the first time, he was often confused by the traditions in the House of Councillors.”

While it is understandable that there are some differences between the two houses, one might think that the minister’s secretary would help with this support.

“The Minister for Economic Revitalization is a minister placed in the Cabinet Office, not the primary minister responsible. The support comes from staff seconded from organizations like the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. As a result, their loyalty tends to be lower compared to ministers in charge of a main portfolio. It is said that these secretaries do not get along well with the staff in the parliamentary liaison office, so detailed information on parliamentary operations does not get passed on properly,” said the acquaintance.

Perhaps this is the “tragedy” of a member from a non-mainstream faction suddenly rising to the mainstream.

When the Cabinet Office’s Policy Evaluation and Public Relations Division was asked about the existence of the document and whether Minister Akazawa had made such requests, the response was as follows:

“The document in question was created within the General Affairs Division of the Minister’s Secretariat for administrative communication to support the Minister and his secretary in facilitating smooth parliamentary responses. It was not written by Minister Akazawa’s secretary. Furthermore, it is not true that Minister Akazawa himself made such requests.”

When we also contacted Akazawa’s office, they responded, “We became aware of the document after being pointed out by reporters. There is no truth to the requests written on it.”

While Akazawa may have his reasons, it is undeniable that the leak of such a document reveals his limitations as a minister.