Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama banned press conferences held by bureaucrats, a sign he intends to make good on his promise to take control of policy- making from civil servants.

“Ministers, who are the responsible officers, should be the ones holding press conferences,” incoming Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said late last night in announcing the measure. The government doesn’t intend to stop the press from interviewing bureaucrats, he said. “Interviews and press conferences are different things.”

Hatoyama became premier yesterday after his Democratic Party of Japan won the most seats in lower-house elections Aug. 30. During his campaign Hatoyama vowed to hold bureaucrats accountable, lessen their influence on politics and cut their personnel expenses by 20 percent.

“It’s a symbolic act but off the mark and lacking substance,” said Jiro Yamaguchi, a political science professor at Hokkaido University in the northern city of Sapporo. “I don’t think it’s possible for politicians to become spokesmen for all the information coming out from ministries.”

Hatoyama has vowed to send 100 lawmakers into Japan’s ministries so that elected officials can have a greater say over their work. The DPJ’s objection to civil servants exerting control over government policy reached a peak last year in the run-up to the election. The DPJ used its control of the upper house to block two of the Liberal Democratic Party’s choices for central bank governor on grounds they had held positions in the finance ministry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 17, 2009 00:18 EDT