Wednesday 19 September – Wednesday 20 April 2011
Watchdogs and Constraints on Government in the UK and Japan
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in association with the Japan Society
In an age of government watchdogs and regulatory bodies, the role of Parliament in challenging the work of the government is at the forefront of the democratic process. As the ultimate ‘watchdog’, Parliament operates through questioning government ministers, debating and the investigative work of committees. This seminar will juxtapose and compare the functions and relevance of Parliamentary practice in the UK and Japan, considering the role of committees and other regulators in the context of broader debates on transparency and accountability.
About the contributors
Sir Robin Mountfield
Sir Robin Mountfield was Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office before his retirement from the Civil Service in 1999. He spent most of his career in the Department of Trade and Industry, moving to HM Treasury in 1992 and to the Cabinet Office in 1995. He is an Independent National Director of Times Newspapers Holdings Ltd, a Director of the Banking Code Standards Board, the Members’ Ombudsman at Lloyd’s, and a consultant to Npower. He is Chairman of the St Katharine and Shadwell Trust and of the Property Trustees of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, a Trustee of the British Heart Foundation and a Council Member at Essex University. He has advised a number of overseas governments on public sector reform.
Professor Reiko Oyama
Professor Reiko Oyama has been a member of the Department of Politics, Faculty of Law at Komazawa University in Tokyo since 2003. She specialises in Japanese Politics and Comparative Political Institutions. Her books include ‘A Comparative Study on Parliamentary Politics: Westminster model and Continental model’ (2003) and ‘Political Institutions of France’ (2006). She also contributed a chapter on the“Legislative Effect of Committees: Potential and Practice of Parliamentary Committees in Japan” to ‘Parliamentary Committees in Japan and India: Their Functions and Relevance’ (edited by K.V. Kesavan, 2003). She previously taught at Seigakuin University and was a Researcher at the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau of the National Diet Library (1979-1995).
Rt Hon Alun Michael JP MP
Rt Hon Alun Michael JP MP (chair) is Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth, and a Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (formerly the Nolan Committee). He became an MP in 1987 and following the election of Labour in 1997, he served at Westminster as a Minister of State at the Home Office (1997-98), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2001-05), and the Department of Trade and Industry (2005-06). He is closely associated with devolution in Wales, where he was Secretary of State (1998-99) and, following the creation of the National Assembly, First Secretary and AM for Mid and West Wales region (1999-2000).