As the number of people aspiring to become so-called "career bureaucrats" continues to decline, Governor Kawamoto of the National Personnel Authority expressed a sense of crisis about the current situation and expressed his intention to expand mid-career recruitment from private companies in addition to work style reforms.

The number of applicants for career-track positions in the national civil service has been on a downward trend since peaking in the spring of 2012, when the first examination was held under the current system, and this year it is more than 1,4300, the second lowest ever.

In an interview with NHK, Governor Kawamoto of the National Personnel Authority expressed a sense of crisis, saying, "Civil servants have fallen behind in the midst of extremely fierce competition for human resources, and we must make even more efforts while private companies and others are making efforts."

He also stated, "In order to retain talented human resources, it is necessary not only to correct the working environment, but also to create a rewarding workplace.

On top of that, in order to
overcome the current situation, he indicated that he would consider including in the recommendations of the National Personnel Authority this summer, such as expanding the number of employees who can choose a "three-day work week" and
securing "intervals" from the end of work to the start of work.

"If new staff are not introduced, the workplace will become more and more exhausted, and as a result, we will fall into a vicious cycle in which the number of people leaving the company increases," he said, indicating his intention to promote further initiatives, such as expanding mid-career recruitment from private companies and rehiring retired employees.

The number of applicants for so-called "career bureaucrats" continues to decline

The number of people who want to become so-called "career bureaucrats" and become career-track national civil servants continues to decline.

In the spring of 2012, when the first exam was held under the current system, more than 2,3800 people applied, but the number will begin to decrease the following year.

After that, although there was a slight increase or decrease, the number fell below 2018,1 for the first time to about 9600,2 in the spring of FY3, and three years later (FY2021), it reached the lowest number so far at about 1,4300.

In the last fiscal year (FY2022), the number of civil servants increased to more than 1,5300, and the National Personnel Authority thought that the popularity of civil servants had increased due to the corona disaster. This year, however, the number fell again to just over 1,4300, the second lowest number on record. This is only about 2% of the peak in fiscal 2012.

(*There are spring and autumn exams, and this is a comparison of the number of people in the spring)