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Decentralization Reform and The Local Government System in Japan
Decentralization Reform and The Local Government System in Japan
Con ten t:
Intro duction: the po int at issue of the de centr a li z a tio n re fo r m an d lo c al go ve rn a nce
1. The Ti de of Decentralizatio n
2. Back gr ound o f de centr a lizatio n re for m
3. T he De ce ntr a li z a tio n pro po sa l: the Way to the Decen tr a l iz a tio n Promoting Law of
1 99 5
4. From the Com mittee fo r the Promotio n o f Decen tr alization coun sels to the
dece ntr a li za t io n p ac ka ge d l a w
5. T he Re su lt o f De centr a li z a tio n Refo r m an d rel ate d probl e ms
6. Gover n ance ch an ge i n Ja pa n
Note
achieved
the
fruitful
result
on
t he
lo cal
gover nmen t
m o der ni z at i o n
an d
de mocratization.
On the ot her si de, the refo r m after t he War w as cr it ic iz ed to be i nsu fficie n t.
F o r t h e S h ar p Re c o m m e n da t i o n o f 1 9 4 9 a n d t h e K a n be Re c o m m e n d a t i o n o f 1 9 5 0
werent fu ll y im ple mente d. T hose reco mmen dat ions seeme d to try to realize the ide a l
of the lo cal government system. They ad dre s sed the devo lu t io n of t he centr a l
fu n c t io n s to t h e lo c al go ve r n m e n t w it h be ing b a s e d o n t h e Sh ar p do c tr i n e .
As for the recomm endatio n of the Shar p Mi s sio n, to carr y for war d t h e
redis tr i bu tio n of th e gover n ment fu n ctio ns be t ween the centr a l an d the l o cal, i t
dec l are d t hree pr inc i ple s.
Fir st p ri n ci ple loo k s for m ak i ng the re s po n s ib i li t y o f e ach fu nct ion c lea r an d
al loc a tes
e ac h
fu nct io n
i n to
the
state,
the
pre fectu re
and
t he
mu nic i pa l it y
(1).
From the standpo int of macro sco pic perspe ct ive , t he orie nt atio n o f t hi s re for m
is c o n di t i o ned b y t he ser ie s o f Ja p a ne se s tr uc tu r a l r e for m c o nce r n in g to the m an y
issue s of the politics, the administration, the e c onomics, and the society. Then, i t
make s the loc a l sy st em re form more foc u sed on the centr al-lo cal r e l at io n sh i p a n d h as
the ce ntralist char acter istics of the re fo rm.
We also h ave to no te th at th is l ar ge -s cale re for m h as be en done i n time o f
pe ace. In turn, there are the need o f m uch t i m e a n d e n de a v o r i n t h e r e f o r m pr o c e s s o f
dec is ion - mak in g a nd im p le ment at io n , an d i t i s sa i d th at it t ake s much mo r e time to
acquire the results o f the re form.
Su ppo si ng th at the r e is a c ha rac ter is ti c of t hi s re form as m e nt ione d a bove, w e
mus t at te mpt to e x am ine o nc e more about wh at i mpac t i t h as for t he po li ti cal s ys tem
an d the lo cal go vern ment in Japan.
Thi s im pac t can be thou gh t of abo ut t he rel at io n wi th th e change of gove rn ance i n
Japan. The decentr a lization re form will beco me the extreme ly im po rtant factor which
in fl uen ces it s gover nance.
In
th i s
ar tic le,
wi l l
ve r ify
the
measure
and
content
of
the
Japan's
dece ntr a lization re form. The fr ame which anal yzes the decentralization re form is a s
fol lo ws.
( 1)
The
fi r s t
is
an
e x am i n a t i o n
a bo u t
the
po l it ic al
p r o c e s s.
W h at
did
the
of
the
re form
an d
t he
est a bl i sh ment
of
renewe d
in st it ut io ns
ar e
pos i ti vel y est im ate d for t he moment. As fo r the gover nance change in the nationa l
an d loc a l l evel, i t se ems t h at t he ev alu a tio n o f t he reform i s very di ffic ul t.
Of cour se, it is not eas y to t a ke ac co unt fo r the results o f the re for m in th e
pre sen t si tu at ion t h at mos t o f the re fo rm i s jus t now laun chi ng ou t. At th is poin t,
since the realizatio n of the reform becomes un v e ile d g raduall y, we shou l d co ns i der
care fully as fo llows:
(1) Doe s th is re for m su bst a nt ive ly ch an ge the loc al go ve rnmen t s ys tem th at was
compo se d a fter t he Worl d War 2n d. An d then , i f i t c h a n g e s, wh at c h an g e i t c au s e d.
(2) Si nce th is re for m i s the r eorgan iz a tio n o f the systematic fr ame an d t he prac ti c e
by the lo cal gove r nmen t i s jus t s t art e d, we h a ve to t ry the ev al uatio n about t he
pos s ibi li ty of the fu t ure im pac t i n the sho r t -r an ge an d in t h e m i d dle r u n be fo r e h an d.
Tak i ng ac coun t of s uch a s i tu ation abo ut the dec e ntr a lization re for m wh ich i s
now deve l o p ing , it is u se fu l to so r t o ut t he re su lt an d the po i nt a t i ss ue o f th e
pre sent re form and pro s pect the future loc al gove rnmen t s y stem be fo rehan d.
There fore, we will e xam ine the de ce ntral i z at i o n r e fo r m i n J a p an a s fo l l o w s .
(1) To examine our case, the background en viro n ment an d his tor ic si tu atio n of t he
dece ntr a lization re form has to be m a de cle ar at first.
(2) We de pict the process of the re form thro ugh the Dece ntralization Promotio n Law.
( 3) Al so, we cla rif y t he re sult an d t h e evaluatio n of the re form to the 3rd.
An d t hen, we w i ll attem p t to exam ine t he me an in g wh ich t he dece nt rali z at ion refo r m
has on t he gover n an ce ch an ge in fu tu re Japan.
1 The Ti de of Decentralizatio n
T h e l o c al au t o n o m y s y s t e m i n t h e 1 9 8 0s a n d t h e 9 0 s h a d a l s o be c o m e t h e
object which has be en forced reorg an iz at ion in t he tu rn in g po in t o f the who le socie t y
wh ile t he loc al go vernme nt it se lf gr ope d for reorg an iz at ion .But the nece ss it y fo r
reorganization o f such a local auto nom y sy stem may have been said from the former
fre que ntly.
For exam ple, a ter m calle d dece ntr a lizati on is not wh at recently began to be
use d. T he n, i t w as use d br is k ly in t he 1 9 40 s an d 5 0s , a n d t h e l o c a l a u t o n o m y a n d t h e
dece ntr a li za t ion pu t t he alm ost s ame mean in g in tho se day s. Fo r ex am ple , bo t h
terms m a y h ave be en use d as " the e st a bl is hmen t of the l o cal auto nomy nee ds th e
reali z at io n o f dece ntr a li z at i on, for t he au thor it y o f loc al go vern ment h as to be
reinforce d," in m any ar gume nts in the N ational Diet after the war.
In case of the deliberatio ns o n the Lo c al G o v e r n m e n t A c t o f 1 9 47 , a s a bo v e
mentione d, it was disc us se d that the e s tablishme nt o f loc al au tonom y s ys tem wou l d
be re a li ze d thro ug h dece nt ra l iz a tio n an d the au t hori ty o f a loc al pu bl ic e nt i t y mu st
be stre ng t he ne d in t he co mm it te e de l i be ra tio ns i n the N at io na l Die t o f tho se d a ys. I t
mean t th at t he dece ntr a li z at i on i n s uch a po s t w a r per i o d r e fo r m o f t h e 1 94 0 s a n d 5 0 s
was a tr i a l to re ali z e the ide a l of the lo cal auto no my fo un d out by the essen t ial i de a
o f the Co n st it u t io n o f J ap a n o r the Lo c a l Go ve r nm e nt A ct.
Howeve r, the pro po s al , for e xa mp le, t h e Sh ar p r e c o m m e n da t i o n a n d t h e K an b e
recommendation, of the thorough re-distr ibutio n of adm in is tr ativ e fu nc tio ns h a d
collapse d on account o f the r a dical-ne ss. W h ile the decentralization type refo rm was
procee ding, the e f fort to maintain and s t r e n gt h e n t h e c e n t r al i z e d s ys t e m w a s
procee ding in sim ultaneou s par a lle l an d t he re w as a rever se movemen t to the
de ce ntr a li za t io n.
As fo r the Japanese govern m e n t s y s t e m i n t h e 1 9 60 s an d 7 0s , t h e r e v e r s e
movemen t of 50 s c ont inue d in t hi s w ay. I t a p pe are d th at t he ce ntr a li z at i on an d
dece ntr a li zat ion was mut u ally contradictory under the so -calle d ne w centr alizatio n
ten den cy. It c an be sai d th at the or i gi n al mot ion w as to li mit th e decentr a li z at ion
wh ich we nt too far beyon d and to rec o ns truc t the man a g e ment s ys tem of u n itar y
dome stic administr ation.
The view which co mpre hensively expr e sse s su c h a tren d was t he fu nct ion al
d iv is io n t h e o r y w h i c h w as c lai me d o n t he re l a tio n be tw een the r ole s o f ce ntr a l
gover nme nt and lo cal go ver nmen t. Showin g t h at t here are an in ter de pen dent and
in se parable re l at io n an d a c o mplic ate d coo pe ratio n bet w een t he c e ntr a l go v e rnmen t
an d loc al gover nme nt, it t rie d to co nquer the re dis tr ibut i on of fun c tio n theo r y th at
in si st s to se par ate func tio n s discre t ely, to alloc a te o ne fun ct i on to on e le ve l
It
was
di ffic ul t
par tially,
to
ado p t
the
the
way
of
functional
pr eservatio n
of
im provem ent
cu rr ent
in
ce ntr al-loc al
p r e se n t de c e n tr a li z at io n , i t se e m s t o m e t h a t
by
t he
Ko iz um i
no w
in
Japan.
Adm in is tr at ive
r e form ,
in
loc a l
gover n ment
as
fo llo w s:
the
de p lo y m e n t
of
"o n e -v i ll ag e ,
one-specialty e cono mic move me nt", and the mo vement o f "re v it a li z in g v i l la g e " an d
"re bu il d in g the to w n" et c. It can s ay th at while regulation and protectio n of the
center wh ich was mean in g f ul and u s efu l in fo rmer time has beg u n to disturb the
lo c al a c t i v i ty, the lo c al te c h n o lo g y an d c a p a bi l i ty wh ic h we r e acc u m u l a te d i n t h e
loc al gove rnmen t h a s begu n to make s uc h inter ventio n unne cessary. In other word, i t
i s c o n s pi c u o u s f o r u s t h a t t h e p r e s e nt l o c al au to nom y s ys t e m se r ve s a s a n o b st ac le ,
an d the lo cal c a pabi li ty canno t be demo ns tr ate d.
Of co urse , o n the o the r s i de, a bi g po l it ic al the me c al le d s truc tu ra l re form
bec ame th e fac tor wh ich adv ance s de c e ntr a li z at ion re for m. Act u al ly, whe n we sa w
J a pa n fro m t h e v i e w po i n t o f t h e g l o ba l w o r ld af t e r t h e 1980s , i t h ad be e n pre s s ed fo r
bi g conve r sio n pro m p tl y in a n y are a o f e cono my, so cie ty, po li ti cs, an d a dm in is t ra tio n
i n J a pa n . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e c onversio n to the dome stic dem and centere d e conomic
str uc ture , po li t ic al re fo r m a nd pa rt y re a li gnme nt, a n d a dm in is tr a ti ve re fo r m, e tc.
ha ve been more an d mo re i mpor t an t su bjec t. Howeve r, suc h co nv ersio n has be e n
pro d uci ng va rio us c o nf li ct s wi th in an d wi tho ut, a nd i t h a s no t pro gre sse d e a si l y.
As one o f the factors which have cau se d suc h a s tr uc ture p ro b lem, th e
Japanese sy stem o f centr a li z a tio n-o f-po wer is me nt ione d by m any cr it ic s. In t he c ase
of the land use in the who le country of J a p an , be c au se o f h av in g m an age d by the
centr a lizatio n-o f-po wer
type
system,
both
overcro wde d
an d
system
no t
only
h as
i n duc e d
the
close d
and
unchange a ble economic system, but also is said that co ncentratio n o f the econom y
ac c om p a n ied by o v e r- co nce ntra tio n h a s pro mo te d the ma l- d i str i bu t io n o f we al th .
an d
to
ado p t
the
de centr a li z a tio n
pos i ti vely.
In
th is
w ay,
the
e conomy.
The refore,
the
establis hment
of
frame work
law
for
pro moting
dec e n tr a li za t io n w a s r e al i ze d.
It is un de rstandable th at the re is a co nnotatio n in whic h the lo cal c o mmun ity
wi l l r e a li z e the s tr u c tu r a l tr ansform ation o f the socie ty and e conom y in domestic and
a global scale in a community and can achieve the im proveme n t i n "t h e qu a li ty o f a
li fe " an d o rig in al "affl uence ".
It is a lso cert ai n t h at there i s a que st i on whe the r the targ et se tt in g an d th e
est a bl i sh ment o f l a w an d it s co nte nt ar e su it a b le for, a n d whe the r i t i s a de qu ate for
to corre spond the di versification of value an d t he newer pro ble ms in an d o ut s i de the
country. There is room in which we exam ine the se que stions because the natio n al
su ppor t to the dece n tr al i zat io n h as no t neces sari l y s how n t he ri se.
Moreove r, in term s of the de velo pme nt of a suc h decentr alization reform, it
has been taken u p as a very po li ti cal poin t at issue. There f ore, whe n we see it fro m
the v ie w poin t of loc al auto no my, it can not be de nie d th at th is re for m w as dis torte d
by bei ng t o l d in s a me r ank o f the pol i t ic al re for m, ch a nge of powe r, a n d an e lect ion
sy stem an d a par ty sy stem reform.
de ce ntralization
re form
starte d
w it h
the
e st a bl i sh m e n t
of
th e
dece ntr a li zat ion pro moti ng law in 1995 as an act ua l s ys te m re fo rm. Ho we ve r, the r e
were ma n y que st ion s an d arg umen ts w hic h were fu n dame n ta l ly com mon from var io u s
po s i tio n s u n t i l t h e l aw w a s e s ta b li sh e d .
The pro po sa l to w ar ds t he de centr a li z a tio n r e fo r m o f t h e 1 98 0 s an d 9 0s h av e
been con s i dere d in t he seco nd Pro v is ion al Admin is tr at i ve In qu ir y Comm it tee(198 1
-83 ye ars ) , the t hre e terms o f the Ad H oc Council for the Promotio n of Administrative
Re form ( 1 9 83 - 93 y e ar s), the governm e nt a d mi ni str a ti ve reform h e a d qu ar te rs, t he
Local Gov ernmen t Sys tem Res e arc h Cou nci l, e tc., in the gov e rnmen t s i de (refe r Tabl e
1 ).
On the o t he r h an d, var io u s de c e ntr a li za t i o n pr o po s a l s a l s o fro m a pr i v a t e
secto r or a loc al go vernme nt have been made. Fr om the loc al go vern ment s i de , t here
was a pr oposal fro m the 6 local gove rnmen t a sso c i at io n s, s uc h a s t he N a tio na l
Go ver no r As so c i at io n, the N a tio na l M a yo r A s s o c i at i o n , an d s o o n. M o r e o ve r, a mon g
the pr ivate sector, there were propo sals from the e conomic worlds , such as the
Federatio n
of
Economic
Organizations,
an d
J a p an
As soc i at io n
of
Co rpor a t e
secto r or gani z at io ns s uc h as
the
very
and
im p r e ss iv e t h a t the
certain
fr a m e wo r k
promo tio n of
law
po litical re form an d
enactment
for
promoting
the
of
each
pro posals:
ho w
to
advance
the
de ce ntralization,
the
transfer-o f-authority, the aboli tio n o f st ate i n terve nt ion , the fu l f il lmen t o f loc al
r e v e n u e , an d the str e n g the n in g a bi l i ty o f lo c al g o v e r n m e n t wh i c h s u bsc r ibe t h e
tr an sfe r o f au thor i t y an d fu nc tio ns.
The firs t po in t o f argume nt i s the re -di str i bu tio n of fun ct io ns an d th e tr ans fer
of au tho ri ty. It me ans th at a su it able r ole as s ign ment be t ween the centr a l an d loc a l
gover nme nt an d be twee n the prefe ct ur e an d the mun ic i pali ty h a s t o be co ns i dere d
an d t he f unc tio ns an d a ut ho rit ie s h a v e to be t r an s ferre d to the loc al as pos s ib le a s
they c an.
10
In
pol it ic a l
c am pa i g n
p l a t fo r m ,
m an y
pro po s a l s
of
basic
l aw
(2)
The
second
Provisional
A dm i n i s tr ativ e
Bo ar d-of-inquiry :
the
P rim ary
Recomme nda tio n (F unc tio na l as si gnme n t bet ween a s t ate a n d a loc al )
1 98 3 8 6: T h e f i r s t A d H o c C o u n c i l for t h e Prom otio n of Adm inistrative Re form; the
Local-adm inistrative-re form
Promotio n
Su bcommittee
(the
exam in ation
of
The
second
repo r t
of
the
Cabine t
meet in g
de term i natio n
" t he
of
pro mo tio n
of
de ce ntr a li za t io n "
(t he de ce ntr a li z at i on pro mo ti ng l aw an d the de ce ntr a li za t io n re f orm b y a dv i so r y
committee )
11
: The Co mmittee for the Promotio n o f Decentr alization 5th co un s el (the re form o f
pu b li c wo r ks )
1999: " th e secon d dece ntr a li zat ion pr omotio n plan" Cabi net mee ti ng de term in at io n
(for the 5th counse l)
:
The
e stablishm ent
of
the
law
concerning
relate d
revisio n s
to
pr omote
4 From the Co mm ittee for the Pro motio n o f Decentralization counsels to the
dece ntr a li za t io n p ac ka ge d l a w
As men ti one d a bo v e, in o r d er to advance the dece ntr a lization re form, the
dec e n tr a li za t io n pr o m o ti n g l aw w a s e n ac te d wi th e x pir a t io n d a te f o r f iv e y e ar s i n
1995. As the technique to pro gress dece ntr alization, old various tec h ni que s, s u ch as
the
p ac ka ge d
l aw
of
arr an gem e nt
a nd
and
i ns t al la t io n
a bo li tio n
of
the
Lo ca l
of
an d
Sy ste m
the
fe ature
of
this
refo rm
sho w s
the
di fferent
aspe ct
by
12
enac te d a s a fr ame work act th at pro vi des not o nl y the pr inc i ple o f dece ntr a li za t io n
bu t al so t he promo t in g metho d an d tec hni que. T he ch ar ac teri s tic s o f t he l aw is t h at
it sho ws the ta rge t an d pr in ci ple s o f de ce ntr a li za t io n to so me e x te nt, in st a ll s t h e
Comm itte e for the Promotion of Dece ntralizat ion as t he ex am in at ion techn i que for i t ,
a n d pro vi de t h e r e s po n s i b i l i t y o f t h e c e n tr a l government for planning and c a rrying
out the de centralizatio n prom otio n pl an in res pon se to the Comm it te e coun sel s .
The principle s of the law are to establi sh the l o cal auto nomy an d make the
afflue nt and un ique loc al com mun ity th roug h the de ce ntralization. Its main purpose s
are the devolution, rearrangement o f age ncy- de leg ate d fu nct ion, re du ct io n o f st a t e
interve ntion, and re form o f c a tegor ic a l grants.
As shown in Table 1, the Com mittee for the Prom otio n o f Decentralization ha s
been
launche d
Academ icians,
after
the
decentralization
re pr esentative s
of
local
pro moting
gover nmen t
l aw
and
e n ac t m e n t
bu s in e ss
in
world,
1 9 95 .
an d
ex-nat ion al o f fi ci als were i ncl u de d i n the co mmittee. The com mittee to ok the
sect ion a l - meeti ng sy stem, and c ar rie d ou t i n st all in g a spe ci a l commi ttee , an d
a dv an ce d e xam in a ti o n. The r esu lt o f exam in a tio n w as f ir s t pro po se d a s " an i nte r i m
re po r t " i n s pri ng o f 1 99 6. The re, the pr opo s a l o f var io us re fo rm s w a s inco r po r a te d a s
a pl atfo r m of a fu t ure ex ami natio n. T he coun se ls after th en fo llo we d i n t he direc tio n
most ly sh own in th i s i nte rim repor t.
An d t h e fi r s t c o u n s e l w as i s s u e d a t t h e e n d o f t h e y e ar 1 9 9 6. In t h e
Comm itte e for the Promotio n o f Decentrali zation fir st coun sel, "the cre ation o f
dece ntr a li ze d so cie t y" wh ic h i s con s tant ly use d after an interim re po rt as a s u bt i t l e
was sho w n, an d t he cou nse l main ly de al t w it h t he arr an g ement an d re duc tio n o f th e
st ate in te rven tio n, rule -m ak i ng o f t he rel at ion s hi p bet we e n the ce ntr a l an d loc al
gover nme nt, the au thor it y tr an s fer to the lo cal, and the abolitio n o f age ncy-delegated
function and so o n.
(3)
13
pre vio us ly, the dere gu lat ion o f m an d ato ry organ and o f fice , the re fo rm of re lation
between pre fecture and m u nic i pal it y, stre ng th enin g loc al adm in i str a ti ve age ncy,
subsidy re form, e tc. It be c ame the mo st volum ino us.
The Com mittee for the Prom otio n o f Decentr a lization 3r d coun sel is dealin g
wi th the n a tio n al p u b li c per s o n n e l i n l o c al g o v e r n m e n t s y s t e m a n d t h e S pe c i a l L a n d
Lease L a w to abso rb to the st ate an d, th rou g h t he handl in g o f su ch an emine n t
dom ai n, it tur ne d in to t he co u nse l o f ce ntr a li z at i on r at her th an de ce ntr a li z at i on.
The subse que nt 4th Comm ittee for the Promo tio n o f Dece ntr a lization co unse l
advise d
the
rule
of
reso lutio n
of
the
co nfl i ct
be twee n
the
ce ntr a l
and
loc a l
government after the abolition of agency de le g ate d f unc tio n, an d ano the r p ar t w a s
the au tho rit y tr an s fer from prefecture s to municipality.
The gover nment that rece ive d the counse ls covering the fir st to 4th d i d
c a bi n e t m e e ti n g de t e r m in a tio n o f t h e fi r st " de c e n tr al i za t io n pro m o ti o n pl an " i n M a y
1 99 8, a n d al m o s t al l t h e a d v i c e s w e r e ac c e p te d an d re a li ze d in the p l a n conc re te ly.
In
a d d it io n ,
the
c e n tr al -m i n is tr ie s
reorganization
w as
p r o gr e s s ing
this
way,
the
5th
counse l
of
the
Comm ittee
for
the
Pro motio n
of
Decentr a lizatio n was re com mende d focusing o n execution of the reform o f pu blic
work s and the refo rm of a subsidy system i n au t u m n o f 1998. T h e t r an s fe r of th e
manageme nt autho rity o f the main ro ads an d r ive rs w h ich ha d bee n expe cte d at the
beg in ni ng w as not r eal i ze d. Abou t th is coun sel, c a bi net me eti ng de te rmin atio n of the
"seco n d de centr a li z a tio n prom otio n pl a n " w a s c arr ie d ou t at the nex t y ear.
B ase d o n the dece n tr al i za t io n promo ti on pl an, the go vernment presente d "the
14
the
su bs t an ti al
abol it io n
of
tr an s f er of
the
au t hori ty
fu nct ion
w a s not e n ough,
was
adv a nce d
we ll ,
the
pre fe c tur e to t h e m u n i c i p a li t y wa s l it t le . T h e r e f o r e , t h e r e f o r m w a s v e r y c o n v e n i e n t
for the g o vernor and the M in is try o f home affair w hic h w as in fl uen ti a l to t h e
pre fe c tur e . T h is w il l be e x am i n e d i n t h e n e x t se c t i o n i n de t a il.
by
the
se lf-dete rmination
15
and
se l f -re s po n s ib i li t y
of
the
lo c al
of
lo cal
auto n o my,
an d
(3)
re in forc in g
t he
loc a l
admi ni s tr at i o n
organization.
At first, on strengthening the authorit y o f loc al auto no my, the autho ri ty o f
the loc a l gover nme nt was ex pan de d th roug h an au thor i ty tr an sfe r a nd t he a b o li tio n
of age ncy - de leg ate d fu nct ion .
Secondly, thro ugh the dere gulation of the loc al a uto no my, suc h as t h e ma ki n g
rule of the co nflic ts reso lution be twe e n ce ntr a l an d lo c al go vern ments an d the
a r r a n g e m e n t a n d r e d u c t i o n o f t he s ta te i nte r ve nt io n, t he li be r a l iz a tio n o f lo c a l
gover nme nt has bee n procee ding.
Thirdly, there was the stre ngthening o f loc al a d min is tr at i o n organization. I t
expe cte d t o be ac ti v ate d not onl y b y t he rev is io n of l a ws bu t al so by the ef f orts o f
loc al gove rnmen t it sel f.
I n t h e l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t , i t s e e m s t h a t the prom otio n o f local adm i nistrative
an d fi sc a l reform, s tren gt hen in g of po l icy c a pa bi li ty an d j udic i al - a ff ai rs c a pa bi l ity,
the promo tio n o f the regional adm inistratio n and the consolidatio n of m unicipalitie s,
the lo ca l as sem bl y ac ti va t ion , the ci t i zen part i ci p at ion, an d t he e st a bl is hm ent o f
tr an spar e ncy an d f ai rne ss in the loc al gover nm e nt are g o in g to b e rea li ze d . A s a
r e su lt , w h i le the i n de pe n de n c e o f c o m m u n it y an d t h e e xp an s i o n o f i t s p o ten tia l
self-determinatio n are aime d at, in turn it mean s an ex pans ion o f s e lf-re s pon si b il i t y
or burden of autono my.
Fin a ll y th ese re su lt s w i ll be sho wn by the act iv it y o f loc al go vern ment in
16
( 2)
( 3)
The thir d is the re form of re side nts' e mpo we rm e nt a n d c i ti ze n s' pa rti ci p a tio n
in m u n ic i p al a f f ai r s fro m a v i e w poi n t o f r e s ide n t s r ig h t o f a u ton o m y.
( 4)
The re a re var io u s r e str ic tio n s wh ic h t he curre nt law system has fo rmed and
wh ich con trol t he lo cal gover n ment mi n ute ly. It s houl d be c ons i dere d to become
im portant to remove and arrange the obliga t io n to an o r g an i zation or activity
of loc al go vernme nt.
( 5)
argument of re form. It comes from the vie w point of the pr inciple of local auto nom y.
In a serie s of refo r m, the vie w poi nt th at the mu nic i pal it y has an i mpor t an t pos tu re
as a f un d a ment a l lo c al go vern ment ha s become we ak.
17
(4)
6. Gover n ance ch an ge i n Ja pa n
In t his paper, con s ider in g th e gove rn ance o f Japan, it h as bee n tho ugh t th at
the de centralization refo rm be comes the ser iou s, i mpor t an t facto r wh i ch in fluen ces it .
It is r e qu ire d to v e r i fy w h e t h e r it is ac tu al l y i m por t an t. We w i ll e x am ine i t w it h
18
re form
may
be
see n
in
the
c e n tr a l -lo c a l
r e l at i o n sh i p
th at
is
transfo rm ed from the interlo cked gove rnmen t al mode l to the discr etel y se par at e
mode l o f i nter-go ver nmen tal r elat ion. And i t m ak e s t he c lari fic atio n of t he r ul e th at
is the im provemen t in the tr ans p aren cy of the ce ntr a l-loc a l re l at ion an d i s to resol v e
the c o n fl ic t i n the c o ntro ls of r e lat ion.
The ce ntral m inistries too k the lead o f such a r e form, and this re form will
change th e centr a l-loc al re l a tio n in to an admi n is tr at ive rel at ion from a po l it ic al
relation. There fore, the po litical pro ce ss re levant to mutual re lationship be twee n
centr a l po li ti cs an d loc al po l it ics be com e s w h at h as h ighe r tr an spar e ncy th a n be fore
the o paque th in g. In the fu ture in tergo vern ment a l process , th e adm in i str a ti v e
proce d ure wi l l be co me mo re i mpor t an t th an the d e mo cra t ic proce d ure ag a in.
Secon d ly, we wi ll ex am ine the st ruc ture of refo rm ac tu all y per forme d. It w a s
cle ar that the c hange of a po lic y targe t and the change o f the organization system of
the s t ate gover nme nt bec ame adv an cin g the de c e n t r a l i z a t i o n r e f o r m . T h e pur po s e o f
dece ntr a lization re form has had tr ansfor me d from the autho rity transfer to the
re arr a nge me nt
dece ntr a lization
of
ce n tr al
re form
loc a l
has
to
r e la t io n sh i p.
inc l ude
both
For
t ha t
re forms
re a s o n,
of
al tho ugh
t he
rel at ion sh i p an d au thor it y tr an s fer, in f act , the e f fort of re form has mainly targete d
to t h e c e n tr al - lo c al r e l at io n sh i p.
The t hir d pro ble m is if the resu lt o f dece ntr a li zat ion re form ch an ges loc a l
go ver na nc e o f J a p an an d t he c o nd i tio ns o f the functio n are change d a g a i n . A s f o r t h e
are a a n d i ts act iv i ty dom ai n of loc a l gov e rnment, it appe ars that the change of loc a l
gover nanc e may h a ppen in ne ar fu ture . It is cle a r th at t he loc al gov ernmen t c an ac t
mo re fre e l y a n d h a s an o p po rt uni t y to carry out the judgme nt by itse lf.
Howeve r, there is a pos s ibi li ty th at the c hange o f t hi s loc a l g o vern an ce wi ll be
confin i ng the loc a l go ver n ment ac t i vi ty i n t he res tr i cte d dom ai n. U s in g muc h
au tho r i ty un der t he cle ar j ur is d ic tio n se e ms to c l ari f y th e l im it o f le g a l a u t h o r i t y
and the restric t io n o f ac tivity re so urce s . T h e lo c a l g o v e r n m e n t wi l l h a v e the
19
lo cal
governm e nt.
Governance
of
Japan
may
no t
ch an ge
throu gh
the s e
re for m
tow ar d s
an d
incre ase
in
e f ficiency
of
the
central
20
Note:
(1)
The agency de le gate d functio n com missio ns t he cen tr al gover nme nt' s fun ct ion to
the e xecutive o rgan of a local governme nt. The go vernor of pre fecture and the chie f o f
m u n ic i p a l it y h a ve t o e xe c u te the function co nven t i o n al l y as a j u n io r a dm in i s t r a t i v e
age ncy, while the minister as a h igh e r r a nk a ge nc y c o n si gn s t he i r f unc tio n to t h e
loc al go ve rnmen t e xecu tive. So to s pe ak, t he local gove rnmen t becomes th e loc a l
br anc he s o f ce ntr a l gover nme nt, a nd be comes s o m e o f na t io na l a dmi n is tr at ive o rga n.
Thi s s ys te m ha s be e n que st io ne d fro m the fo rme r to be big restrictive conditions fo r
deve lo pme nt o f the loc al au to nomy i n Japan. An d the abo li tio n h as been disc u sse d,
bu t it w as unre a li ze d un ti l ye ar 2000.
(4)
T h e de fi n i t io n t h a t the lo c a l au ton o m y i s b a se d o n t h e m u n ic i p al i ty i s g e n e r a l ly
acce pte d. On the other hand, the pr efecture is also local government in Japan.
H o we ve r, it c an no t be de nie d th at the m un ic i p a l it y go ve r n m e nt h as it s o wn tr a di t io n
since the chartere d city has been thought as im portant as one o f the i de as s u p por ti n g
the loc a l au tonom y after mo der ni z at io n. An d in t h e 2 0t h c e n tu r y, the c i ty w as al so
the pl ace of ci t ize n s l i ber at i on an d pa rti ci pa tio n or ur ba n soc ia l movemen t ag ai n.
Al tho ug h it i s am bi guou s to make s uc h a vie w poin t in to t he i dea o f loc a l aut onomous
s y s t e m , i t i s o ne o f t h e f u n d a m e nt a l v i e w po i n t o f th is p a p e r.
21