Round 2 of the Japanese DPJ politicians inquisition of bureaucrat-led spending（事業仕分け） started a week ago, with the politicians slating 42 organizations for closure and JPY 350 billion worth of spending cuts (article in Japanese). This round continues from May 20th and is being closely watched by the nation, as the interrogative questioning provides excellent television viewing. (The lead "prosecutor", Renho, comes across as the type of firebrand Japan needs. An interview with the Japan Times follows her background) This follows Round 1, which led to substantial spending cuts when concluded in November 2009; highlighted projects can be seen in Japanese here.
In addition to taking some of the national attention off Hatoyama's inability to make decisions on Futenma and Ozawa's money-raising improprieties, the politician-bureaucrat debates on public spending are raising awareness of how capital is allocated by the Japanese government. And further, whether the bureaucracy's allocation of capital is helpful to the country or not. Certain bureaucrat traditions such as amakudari (practice of bureaucrats taking cushy roles in related counterparties upon retirement as gratitude for prior patronage) are now widely frowned upon. But it has taken Japan until the post-Koizumi era to put bureaucratic capital allocations under the magnifying glass.
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