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.
bureaucratic routine; red tape
Compound of 役所 (government office) and 仕事 (work), literally 'government office work'. The pejorative sense developed from the perception of bureaucratic inefficiency.