noun
red tape; bureaucratic bungling; officialism
Pejorative term for inefficient, rule-bound, or obstructive bureaucratic procedures, often implying unnecessary paperwork and delays.
許可を得るのに役所仕事で一か月もかかった。
It took a whole month to get the permit because of red tape.
あの部署は役所仕事がひどくて、簡単な手続きもなかなか進まない。
That department is so bureaucratic that even simple procedures barely move forward.
Compound of 役所 (government office) and 仕事 (work), literally 'government office work'. The pejorative sense developed from the perception of bureaucratic inefficiency.