Government Evaluations in Japan’s Municipalities Based on Nationwide Survey Data

Government evaluations in Japan are linked to the business culture. This study investigated government evaluations in cities and towns/villages using primary survey data from 2014 and 2015. The dominant method was Jimujigyo Hyoka, a cross-sectional evaluation of programs using performance measures, implemented by 80% of municipalities with government evaluations. Cities were more likely than smaller municipalities to have implemented evaluations (84.6% vs. 37.4%). Almost none of the smaller municipalities had implemented evaluations because of the lack of resources. The main problems were the lack of clarity and internal consistency in the results and the effort and workload involved.