官界(かんかい)

Compound of 官(かん) ('government; officialdom') and 界(かい) ('world; sphere; circles'). Part of a productive pattern where 界(かい) defines a professional or social world: 政界(せいかい) ('political world'), 財界(ざいかい) ('business world'), 学界(がっかい) ('academic world'), 芸能界(げいのうかい) ('entertainment world').

Usage

• Used in news and commentary when discussing government bureaucracy as an institution — its internal culture, promotion patterns, and relationships with other power centers.
• Japan's 官界(かんかい) is historically dominated by graduates of elite universities (especially 東京大学(とうきょうだいがく)), a phenomenon related to 学閥(がくばつ) ('university-based cliques').
• Often appears alongside 政界(せいかい) ('political world') and 財界(ざいかい) ('business world') in discussions of Japan's power structure.

Common collocations

• 官界(かんかい)で出世(しゅっせ)する: to advance in government circles
• 政界(せいかい)と官界(かんかい): political and bureaucratic worlds
• 官界(かんかい)に入(はい)る: to enter government service
• 官界(かんかい)の人脈(じんみゃく): connections in bureaucratic circles

Similar words

• 政界(せいかい): political world — the sphere of elected politicians and party politics
• 財界(ざいかい): business world — the sphere of corporate leaders and economic power
• 学界(がっかい): academic world — the sphere of scholars and universities
• 官僚(かんりょう): bureaucrat — an individual government official, especially a career civil servant