Love and Organizational DNA: Ito's Roadmap for Bureaucratic Reform

Katsura Ito, a former Commissioner of Japan's National Personnel Authority, reflected on her 30 years at foreign-affiliated IT companies and four years in Kasumigaseki. She noted that while 80% of organizational reform know-how is universal, understanding the remaining 20%, the 'organizational DNA', determines success or failure.

Ito offered contrasting examples: adapting to paper culture at the NPA versus the sticker campaign at Microsoft. She concluded that whether a team ultimately follows depends on 'love', a leader's devotion grounded in listening and recognition.

The scope of influence of national civil service personnel administration reaches nearly 300,000 national civil servants alone, 3 million when including local government employees, and 10 million when public organizations are counted. A private-sector veteran who spent more than 30 years at foreign-affiliated IT companies took on the challenge of reforming this massive bureaucratic apparatus.

In April 2022, Ito was appointed Commissioner of the National Personnel Authority. She observed that those who work at foreign-affiliated companies for a long time tend to develop an even stronger attachment to Japan. Gaining the perspective of 'Japan within the world' led her to aspire to contribute to a Japanese society facing declining popularity of national civil service careers.