In 1992, he began writing a series of articles critical of Japan's bureaucratic culture for the monthly magazine Gekkan Asahi. These were later published in the best-selling book Oyakusho no Okite (お役所の掟) or "Code of the Bureaucrats", which was later published in English under the title Straitjacket Society[1]. Following the publication of his articles, he experienced a series of demotions and was finally fired by the Ministry in February 1995. After being fired, he published a second book in 1997 titled Oyakusho no Seishinbunseki (お役所の精神分析)orPsychoanalyzing the Bureaucrats[2]. This second book has not yet been translated into English.
He spent the remainder of his life giving lectures on Japanese society and the Japanese bureaucracy. Dr. Miyamoto died in Paris from colorectal cancer on July 18, 1999.
Japan Policy Research Institute. Group-Think Meets Individualism: The Saga of Dr. Masao Miyamoto and the Japanese Bureaucracy. in JPRI Critique. Dec 1995.
