[April 2024] The Difference in Staff Recruitment and Promotion in Local Government Between Japan and Australia/New Zealand

One of our important missions is to conduct research on Australian and New Zealand local governments and create reports for the benefit of Japanese local governments. We have completed the revision of our publication, the “Local Government of Australia and New Zealand” guidebook, which outlines information on the local government system in the two countries. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who kindly assisted with our revision.

I believe that the local government systems in each country differ depending on country’s constitution and societal conditions, and I find the difference between Japan and Australia/New Zealand interesting. I would like to introduce the staff recruitment and promotion in Japanese local government, which differs from those in Australia and New Zealand.

On 1 April every year, at the start of the new financial year, many new staff are hired and many officials are moved within Japanese local governments. Most of these new staffs are recent graduates. Local governments conduct a recruitment examination, including a written test and an interview, in the year prior to recruitment. Recruitment categories are divided into college graduate level, high school graduate level, and so on, with applications restricted based on age.

Since joining a local government, officials do not remain in the same position but are transferred to different workplaces at regular intervals, typically every three years. This rotation allows them to enhance their skills and accumulate experience. After gaining a certain amount of experience, they become eligible for promotion to higher positions. Japanese local governments have a retirement age system, and many officials work for the same local government until they retire. Consequently, a number of staff retire at the end of the fiscal year, leaving vacant positions. These vacancies are filled by transferring other employees of the same rank or by promoting them. The number of newly hired staff is determined each fiscal year, taking into account the number of retirees and other factors.

In contrast, the competition rate for newly hired staffs across local governments in fiscal 2020 was 5.9 times, which is lower than in fiscal 2011. To secure talented human resources, local governments are also making efforts in mid-career recruitment. In fiscal 2020, more than half of all local governments were undertaking this initiative. Mid-career hires follow the process described above.

We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the difference between Japan and Australia/New Zealand with you.