Performance Measurement in the Public Sector
Although performance measurement is related to the most recent administrative reform in
central government, efforts at performance measurement first started not at the center but
at the periphery. Mie prefecture, located in the central part of the country on the Pacific
coast and with a population of 1.8 million, began implementing integrated management
based on performance measurement in 1995. The aim is to achieve not only cost savings,
but also a transformation of the bureaucratic organization culture with the main concept
being customer-oriented service delivery.
Shizuoka prefecture, also on the Pacific coast of central Japan and with a population
of 3.7 million, initiated another type of strategic management in 1994. This management
reform method has come to be applied to the overall restructuring of government, in
addition to cutting the number of staff through consolidation, outsourcing, and the use of
information technology.
Hokkaido, the most northern prefecture and with a population of 5.7 million, surprised
the ministries by carrying out the first reevaluation of public works. Ministries responsible
for public works were surprised that a prefecture, as the recipient of public works subsidies
that promote local job opportunities, would initiate a performance measure.
These three entrepreneurial endeavors of local governments in Mie, Shizuoka, and
Hokkaido influenced the central government’s passing in 1998 of the Basic Law for Central
Government Reform.
Performance measurement is also related to the monitoring of comprehensive plans
and benchmarking practices as an effective tool for improving performance. To achieve
the Tokyo Plan 2000, which aims to create an attractive, dynamic Tokyo by 2015, the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the largest local authority in Japan with a population of
more than 12 million, has developed four “Tokyo Policy Measures”: (1) create an urban
city that facilitates a balanced working and living environment; (2) create a hometown with
abundant nature and culture; (3) improve Tokyo’s convenience as a city with the smooth
interaction of people, goods, and information; (4) nurture unique and talented human
resources.