The new US administration appointed by President-elect Donald Trump has not yet seen the light of day, but it has already sparked the interest of a US ally in the Asia-Pacific region. The Japanese government shows great interest in how New US Government Department of EfficiencyDOGE will operate and how its appointed head, Tesla founder Elon Musk, will deliver the reforms it promised.
Huge interest in DOGE
Japanese Digital Transformation Minister Masaaki Taira expressed keen interest in the Trump administration’s newly established Government Efficiency Department, saying it could be a good source of new ideas to get Japan’s economy back on track.
Taira said that the Japanese government will do so “Follow closely” The approach that Musk will apply to managing the efficiency of the US government to see what can be learned from it and integrate it with the country’s administrative reform efforts.
Taira made the statement at the start of Japan’s “Autumn Review” on November 14 in which the country’s leaders meet to evaluate the country’s programs and policies to determine the direction the government will take in the future.
This year’s fall review will discuss nine national programs. It includes talks about scholarships offered by the Japanese Ministry of Education to foreign students and subsidies provided by the government reconstruction agency aimed at revitalizing areas in Fukushima Prefecture that were severely damaged by the March 2011 earthquake. The massive earthquake paralyzed the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Holdings.
“Ministry of Government Efficiency”
In his speech to fall review delegates, Tyra revealed his interest in emulating steps taken by the Trump administration to boost government efficiency by creating DOGE and appointing Musk as its head.
The Japanese minister expressed great interest in how the US government’s efficiency department will reduce government spending, saying that he wants to implement similar reforms to the Japanese government.
He expected Musk to implement a “very radical approach” to cutting government spending in the United States, adding that he would monitor the policies the Tesla CEO would put in place to implement the DOGE mandate.
Trump appoints DOGE chairs
Trump recently appointed Musk and Roivant Sciences founder Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the government’s efficiency department.
The next two leaders of the DOGE have already unveiled their ambitious plan to downsize the government workforce and shrink government.
Trump made clear that DOGE would not be an actual “department” like the Department of Homeland Security, saying that creating a new government agency would need to be approved by Congress.
He added that it would act as an advisory committee “outside the government” that would advise the federal government on how to undertake “broad structural reform.”
Featured image from Rolling Stone, chart from TradingView