Module: Public Management and Organization Development Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management Contents Introduction 1 I. Local government leaders in Japan 2 1. Dual representation system 2 2. The election process 3 3. Independents, peoples’ candidates and reformists 4 II. Leadership types 5 1. Leadership based on mass appeal 6 1-1. Yukio Aoshima 6 1-2. Knock Yokoyama 6 1-3. Shintaro Ishihara 7 1-4. Hiroshi Nakada 9 2. Use of the manifesto 10 2-1. What is a manifest0? 10 2-2. The Masayasu Kitagawa manifesto 11 2-3. The Shigefumi Matsuzawa manifest 12 3. Leadership of the personnel management 13 3-1. Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara 14 3-2. Kanagawa governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa 14 3-3. Mayor of Osaka Junichi Seki 15 III. Crisis management 16 1. Natural disasters 17 1-1. Disaster prevention: the Kanagawa Prefecture Disaster Prevention Center 17 1-2. Preventing secondary disasters: Niigata governor Hirohiko Izumida 17 1-3. Evacuation warnings and declaration of disaster areas: Mayor Kan-ichi Kanegae of Shimabara 19 1-4. ‘Mamoru-kun’, the disaster prevention e-mail initiative in Fukuoka prefecture 21 2. Terror attacks 21 3. Bureaucratic scandals 22 4. Personal information 23 Conclusions 24 Public Management and Organization Development Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management Introduction When considering the question of what leadership is, it may be instructional to think of a certain type of political skill as something different from daily management. Internally, shifting internal power relations can go beyond the normal coordination of human relations; externally, there can be pressure for restructuring of social groups; and at the abstract level, there are changing value systems such as formation and establishment of new government policies. In the words of Philip Selznick, these are the times when administrators must make critical decisions that transcend the normal routine. In many cases, these decisions operate in conjunction with one another, and ultimately all must be dealt with — this is the essence of leadership. Leaders often have to deal with shortages of resources such as time, funding, special knowledge and political support. This is a close approximation to the true destiny of government, which embraces a pluralism of values. Nevertheless, leaders are obliged to make decisions under conditions that are less than ideal, and sometimes to institute major reforms such as realigning the general trajectory. This Chapter examines the issue of leadership and crisis management. Section 1 considers the characteristics of those in leadership positions in local government in Japan. Section 2 looks at different leadership styles, citing actual examples, while Section 3 considers how different leaders respond to different types of challenges. The concept of leadership conjures up images of innate leadership skills, natural charisma, and leader-follower relations within the organization. A common requirement of both business leaders and political leaders is the need for good interpersonal skills. An important difference is the fact that the head of a local government organization is generally elected by means of a voting process, which inevitably involves parameters such as character, personality and personal magnetism. Particularly in large metropolises such as Tokyo and Osaka where the field encompasses a large number of candidates, the candidate best known to voters will enjoy an advantage over his or her rivals. A leader who has years of political experience or is active in the media can use this public appeal to utilize the media more effectively once elected and to get his or her message across directly to the people. This, too, is leadership. Partly in response to criticism of the idea of the popular vote, the notion of the manifesto election has been embraced in recent years. This calls for the head of - 1 - Public Management and Organization Development Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management government to issue a ‘local manifesto’ setting out policies that he or she will implement if reelected. With new candidates it can be more difficult to obtain data for analysis, so coordination with the relevant departments is required, such as modifying numerical targets after election. The policies are set out clearly in the manifesto, which will effect citizens, local government employees, and the head of the local government. In this way, the manifestoo approach helps to encourage policy-based leadership. Reforming leaders who use the manifesto as an agenda for reform often run into difficulty trying to exert leadership over the bureaucracy. Even a leader who has been elected with popular public support may not have the internal support necessary to push through reforms. Genuine dynamic leadership is manifested in the ability to incorporate policy into personnel and other changes to the organization. The type of organization that the leader wishes to create will influence the policy that is implemented, while policy in turn formalizes the organization. Here, we will consider leadership issues associated with personnel and look at examples of external recruiting and the problems that this can cause. With respect to crisis management, the major cities of the world are now subject to the threat of terrorism, and Japan cannot afford to remain defenseless. The leadership displayed by New York mayor Rudolf Giuliani in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks was noted around the world. As the local government leader dealing directly with the crisis on the ground, he or she is effectively more responsible for the safety of the people than the leader of state. In earthquake-prone Japan, we need to learn from past lessons about which dangers we can prevent. Today’s leaders are also required to deal with scandals and deplorable events within the organization, just like the private sector, and this represents another facet of crisis management. Finally, we will consider how leaders deal with crisis in the area of information technology, where specialist expertise is often required. I. Local government leaders in Japan 1. Dual representation system In Japan, the parliamentary system is used at the national level, while local government uses a dual form of representation, similar to a presidential-style system where both the governor or mayor and members of the assembly (council) are directly elected by the people. As with the federal Congress in the United States, which is elected via the presidential system, the political process functions smoothly when the leader (i.e., the governor) and the assembly members are from the same party, and - 2 - Public Management and Organization Development Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management the ruling party of the members supports the leader. If the leader and the assembly members are from opposing parties, debate becomes increasingly difficult and the administration may be destabilized. At the local government level in Japan, it is not uncommon for the leader to have a different set of policies to the majority of the assembly or council. It seems that voters sometimes seek a political balance by, for instance, electing a leader on a reform ticket while choosing their assembly member on the basis of experience and stability. 2. The election process It is said in Japan that the three things needed to run in an election are name recognition “kanban”, a support base “jiban”, and money “kaban”. Given the restrictions this places on candidates, it is not uncommon for successive generations of politicians to come from the same family. However, this does not tend to apply to leaders at the local level. Former central government bureaucrats consistently appear in gubernatorial elections at the prefectural level. Often a bureaucrat from the former Ministry of Home Affairs will stand for election after serving time in senior positions such as deputy governor or deputy mayor. As mayor, a former bureaucrat can offer good connections with government at the national level, as well as an innate knowledge of the workings of the public sector. From around 1985 there was a marked increase in the incidence of candidates supported by several political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party. The support of multiple parties gives a candidate considerable strength and a greater chance of election victory. As with the national coalition government from 1993, candidates in regional politics were commonly supported by in concert with the Liberal Democratic Party. More recently, however, the number of candidates elected without support from any political party is on the increase. These candidates consider alignment with a political party to be a liability that sullies their image of being ‘one of the people,’ and their appeal to voters lies precisely with the fact that they are non- aligned. Most voters are independent (non-party), and do not have parties to support. The competition between independent candidates and candidates with cross-party support is becoming more intense, with independent candidates often emerging the victors. During elections for members of the assembly or council, voters are more likely to look for positives such as experience and past performance, particularly regarding the candidate’s previous efforts on behalf of the local region. Voting patterns are quite different when it comes to local leaders, however. Voters tend to seek a clean image, a - 3 - Public Management and Organization Development Sub-Module5 Leadership and Crisis Management person who is sufficiently innovative, different, or otherwise ‘outside the mold.’ Thus, a candidate with fewer perceived ‘negatives’ has a greater chance of being elected. A close connection with the local region is not seen as terribly important. Local government elections tend to involve debate over more immediate issues than the Lower House and Upper House elections, such as education and public safety at the municipal level. Yet, although these issues are of more immediate importance to voters, turnout to local government elections is typically quite low (around 30 to 50 %).