President-elect Donald Trump’s new US department has not yet seen the light of day but is already attracting interest from a US ally in the Asia-Pacific region. The Japanese government is showing great interest in how the new U.S. Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE, will work and how its appointed head, Tesla founder Elon Musk, will implement promised reforms.
Strong interest in DOGE
Japanese Minister of Digital Transformation Masaaki Taira expressed keen interest in the new government efficiency department created by the Trump administration, saying it could be a good source of new ideas to revive the Japanese economy on the right path.
Taira said the Japanese government would “closely monitor” the approach Musk would implement within the U.S. government’s efficiency department to see what it can learn and incorporate it into the country’s administrative reform efforts. .
Taira made the statement at the start of Japan’s “Autumn Review” on Nov. 14, during which state leaders are convened to assess the country’s programs and policies determining the direction the government will take in the future.
This year’s Fall Review will cover nine national programs. It includes discussions on Japanese Ministry of Education scholarships for foreign students and National Reconstruction Agency grants aimed at revitalizing areas of Fukushima Prefecture that were severely devastated by the March earthquake 2011. The massive earthquake paralyzed the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
The “Ministry of Government Effectiveness”
In his speech to Fall Review delegates, Taira revealed that he wanted to copy the Trump administration’s moves to increase government efficiency by creating DOGE and putting Musk at its helm.
The Japanese minister expressed great interest in how the U.S. Department of Efficiency would reduce government spending, saying he wanted to implement reforms similar to those of the Japanese government.
He expected Musk to implement “a pretty drastic approach” to reducing government spending in the United States, adding that he would keep an eye on what policies the Tesla CEO would establish to carry out the DOGE mandate.
Trump appoints DOGE leaders
Trump recently named Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of Musk and Roivant Sciences, to head the government efficiency department.
The two new DOGE leaders have already revealed their ambitious plan to downsize government and shrink government.
Trump clarified that DOGE would not be a real “department” like the Department of Homeland Security, saying the creation of a new government agency requires congressional approval.
He added that it would function as an “outside of government” advisory commission that would advise the federal government on how to carry out “large-scale structural reform.”
Featured image from Rolling Stone, chart from TradingView
