Japan Keenly Interested In How Trump’s New US Department Of Government Efficiency, Or DOGE, Will Function

The Japanese government shows great interest in how the new US Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will function and how its appointed head Tesla

Japanese officials are closely monitoring the newly established US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its appointed head, Tesla founder Elon Musk, to gain insights for spurring the Japanese economy.

During the commencement of Japan’s “Autumn Review” on November 14, Japanese minister for digital transformation Masaaki Taira expressed a keen interest in the Trump administration’s new government efficiency department.

Taira stated that the Japanese government would “closely follow” the approach implemented by Musk in the American government efficiency department to identify applicable concepts for integration into the country’s administrative reform efforts.

This year’s Autumn Review, which convenes state leaders to evaluate national programs and policies, will discuss nine programs. Among them are the Japanese education ministry’s scholarships for foreign students and the state reconstruction agency’s subsidies for revitalizing areas in Fukushima Prefecture, which were devastated by the March 2011 earthquake that crippled the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In his address to the Autumn Review delegates, Taira expressed interest in replicating the steps taken by the Trump administration to boost government efficiency by creating DOGE and appointing Musk to lead it.

The Japanese minister showed particular interest in how the US government efficiency department would cut government spending, stating that he wants to implement similar reforms to the Japanese government.

He anticipated that Musk would employ “a pretty drastic approach” to cutting government spending in the US, adding that he would observe the policies outlined by the Tesla CEO to execute DOGE’s mandate.

Trump recently appointed Musk and Roivant Sciences founder Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the government efficiency department.

The two incoming leaders of DOGE have already unveiled their ambitious plan to downsize the government workforce and reduce government.

Trump clarified that DOGE would not be an actual “department” like the Department of Homeland Security, emphasizing that establishing a new government agency requires Congressional approval.

He added that it would operate as an “outside of government” advisory commission, tasked with advising the federal government on executing “large-scale structural reform.”