13:59 JST, August 26, 2025
There is a growing movement to encourage staffers at local government offices, who are local public servants, to take on side jobs. It is essential to establish a system that does not allow local government officials’ role as “servants of the whole community” to be undermined and that gains the understanding of residents.
Under the Local Civil Service Law, local government employees must obtain permission from the mayor or other officials with appointing authority to work for other organizations such as for-profit companies.
This is because public servants are required to ensure fairness in their duties, maintain their dignity and ensure the efficiency of public services. In recent years, an increasing number of local governments have permitted side jobs under certain conditions.
In 2018, the Nagano prefectural government established a system for authorizing side jobs, with a focus on work with high public interest such as town development, and there have been about 130 cases of approval.
Decisions are made based on whether the work is compatible with the status of a public servant. Even working in for-profit enterprises, such as companies engaged in large-scale agriculture or designated as managers of public parks, has been permitted.
On the other hand, serving as an executive officer in a family-run company or working at a convenience store have not been permitted due to the primarily profit-seeking nature of such jobs.
The primary reason local governments are allowing officials to take on side jobs is a shortage of people wanting to pursue careers in public service positions. Competition in the fiscal 2023 local government civil service examination was the lowest on record, with just 4.6 people for every available position.
The aim of local governments is to secure human resources by enhancing flexibility in working arrangements and allowing individuals to utilize their abilities to earn more income. There is also a situation in which maintaining local communities may prove difficult if individuals cannot fulfill multiple roles.
The issue is that there are no clear rules for permitting side jobs, and there is inconsistency in how local governments are handling such cases. Over 30% of local governments do not have any established criteria.
In June, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry notified all local governments to establish criteria for allowing side jobs and publicize it.
The ministry advised local governments not to uniformly prohibit side jobs at for-profit companies and to allow officials to work in a self-employed manner. At the same time, the ministry requires local governments to confirm the absence of conflicts of interest with side jobs and to appropriately manage compensation and working hours.
Since government officials are servants of the whole community, they must not exercise their authority in a manner that benefits specific individuals or groups. Even if side jobs are permitted, they should be strictly limited to work unrelated to the individual’s duties at the local government office.
Local governments will now have to work to establish approval criteria based on local circumstances.
Since side jobs are conducted outside the local government’s regular working hours, efforts to improve the efficiency of local government operations are necessary. Efforts to gain residents’ understanding are also essential. The central government is urged to share examples of efforts by local governments in various regions to serve as references for others when establishing their system.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 26, 2025)