The Members' Office Buildings shall be established to provide the offices, which enable the Members of the Diet to fulfill their duties. (The Diet Law, Article 132, 2).
After each election, the offices in the two buildings of the House of Representatives are assigned to each political faction by a conference of faction representatives. The office space for the House of Councilors is distributed by the self-governance committee to each political faction. Once the assignments have been completed, no changes will be made even if a member subsequently changes his party. Each member of the Diet is permitted only one office. The use of the office for other purposes is strictly prohibited, including the use by other organizations or lodging. Each office is only about forty square meters. This situation causes various problems for both Members and their visitors.
(1)The Office Space is too Small
Office space is always the first issue to be mentioned. The office assigned to each Diet Member is quite small, and the Member and two to four secretaries must conduct their business there. From all points of view, the space is insufficient. In addition, people with petitions, bureaucrats with information and other Diet Members with appointments visit and use the office. In such small spaces, visitor services do not go smoothly. There is not even a room for visitors to wait. Not many have a positive impression of these offices. Also as a result of the space limitations, the collection, safekeeping and arrangement of materials are adversely affected. A considerable amount of valuable Diet material is disposed of because of a lack of space, at a great loss to the public. As the Diet moves to increase staff, the space problem will only worsen.
(2)Inadequate Support Facilities
Not only is office space limited but support facilities and services are also insufficient. In particular, information services, computerization and network facilities do not meet the today's standards. Recently, personal computers have been supplied to the Diet and an information network is being promoted. However, lack of space and lack of qualified personnel are no doubt problems. What is more serious is the lack of understanding of these problems on the part of Members and hence the under utilization of what is already available. Also, the space currently provided for support services are inadequate. Expansion of space for common reference materials, document rooms, lobbies, staff space and copy rooms, as well as other facilities functions should be included.
(3)Openness and Public Access Are Unsatisfactory
Diet Members are the representatives of the people and the public has the right of access to Members and to the political process. Originally, it was possible for individuals to contact Members at any time, to talk with them and make proposals. Now, however a Member's limited office space makes this impossible. On the contrary, these offices have become quite exclusive and are generally not open to the public, as had been the case earlier. It is important to promote public access and create an atmosphere whereby individuals can contact a Member easily. Also these offices are not constructed to accommodate the elderly or the handicapped. Although some barrier free accesses such as slopes, elevators, escalators and flat floors have been introduced, they are far from adequate to meet the current standards.
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