2013 Volume 10 Pages 117-127
This study examines reasons why governmental organizations engaged in public administration (PA) need to be inde-pendent and shows that 'independence' can be categorized as independence from (1) other departments in government, (2) politics (e.g. partisanship), and (3) those subject to its activities. It is argued that treating PA in terms of its resources (treasures (i.e. finances), authority, organizations and nodality (i.e. information)) is meaningful for evaluating the true extent of independence. Analysis of PA in Japan identifies goals for future study, such as more sophisticated methods for quantitative evaluation and further investigation of 'independence' and institutional design to build public trust in PA.
