The Need for Administrative And Financial Reform in Japanese Local Governments
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Hiroshi InayamaDirector general for secretariat’s policy matters
Minister’s secretariat, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan
September 2015
20150807ver1
Contents
1 Outline of local autonomy systems in Japan
2 Outline of administrative and financial reform in Japanese local governments
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1 Outline of local autonomy systems in Japan
1-(1) Characteristics of local autonomy systems in Japan
Fundamental information about Japanese local autonomy systems
Composition of local governments
Local government institutions
Relationships between leaders and assemblies
Division of administrative work between the national and local governments
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Fundamental information about Japanese local autonomy systems
4
In Japan, local autonomy is guaranteed by the constitution. The national and local governments have different legal personalities, and the Local Autonomy Act prescribes local autonomy structures and the relationships between the national and local governments.
Local governments have assemblies composed of members chosen via public elections (direct elections by the citizens).These assemblies possess legislative power (the right to establish regulations)—within the range of law—including budget decisions.
Administration is performed by publicly elected leaders (prefectural governors and heads of municipalities).
* National government administration is performed by the Cabinet. The national government has a parliamentary system.
The Japanese local government system has two levels: prefectures and municipalities.
* Japan is a unitary state; it does not have a federal system.* There are 47 prefectures and 1,718 municipalities (as of April 1, 2015).
Composition of local governments①
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Japan
Republic of Indonesia
Largest
SmallestTotal area: 377,972.28 km2
Largest: Hokkaido 83,424.22 km2
Smallest: Kagawa Prefecture 1,876.73 km2
(October 1, 2014)
Composition of local governments (2)
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Type Number Population (largest – smallest) (Unit: person)
Prefecture (to, do, fu, ken)
47 To(1)
13,159,388 (Tokyo)
Do, fu, ken(46)
9,048,331 – 588,667(Kanagawa Prefecture) (Tottori Prefecture)
Municipality (city, town, village)
1,718 City(790)*Among which are designated cities (20)
3,688,773 – 4,387 (Yokohama City) (Utashinai City) (Hokkaido)
Town(745)
50,442 – 1,246 (Fuchu Town) (Hayakawa Town) (Hiroshima Prefecture) (Yamanashi Prefecture)
Village(183)
38,200 – 201 (Yomitan Village) (Aogashima Village) (Okinawa Prefecture) (Tokyo)
Special wards(in Tokyo)
23 877,138 – 47,115
(Setagaya City) (Chiyoda City)(Note) Local government numbers and itemizations are current as of April 1, 2015
Populations are from the 2010 Population Census (definite values)
Local government institutions Assembly: decision-making body
Number of assembly members Determined by regulations (When the Local Autonomy Act was revised in
2011, the upper limits by population scale were
abolished)
Assembly member term of office Four years
Assembly member eligibility for election Residents age 25 and older
Right to vote for assembly members Residents age 20 and older*
Jurisdiction Establishing, revising, and abolishing regulations; determining budgets; authorizing account settlement; votes of censure against leaders; etc.
Holding assemblies Regular meetings (many local governments hold four per year) and special meetings
Leader: executive body Term of office Four years
Eligibility for election Age 30 and older for prefectural governors, age 25 and older for heads of municipalities
Right to vote Residents age 20 and older*
Jurisdiction Establishing regulations, submitting legislative bills, enacting budgets, etc.
* Will be lowered to 18 years old after the first national election after June 19, 2016
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Relationships between leaders and assemblies
(dual representative system)
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(Executive body) (Decision-making body)Right to submit legislative bills
If the views of the head and
assembly are in conflict
• The head making a decision on his/her own
• Reconsideration
• Lack of confidence/dissolution
Coordination methods
Right of inspection
Head
Assembly
[Directly elected by citizens] [Directly elected by citizens]
Resolutions
Public investment
Education Welfare Other Industry and economy
National government
○Expressways○National highways (designated sections)
○First-class Rivers
○Universities (national university corporations)
○Pensions ○Defense○Diplomacy
○Currency○Trade○Energy
Local governments Pref
ectures
○National highways (other)
○Prefectural roads
○High schools○Managing elementary and junior high school staff members
○Health care centers ○Policing ○Urban planning, etc. (zone designation)
Municipalities
○Municipal roads○Sewage
○Elementary and junior high schools○Kindergartens and preschools
○National health insurance○Waterworks○Garbage processing○Care and welfare
○Firefighting○Resident registration
○Urban planning, etc. (determining plans)
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Division of administrative work between the national and local governments (illustrated by example)
1 Outline of local autonomy systems in Japan
1-(2) Background to the establishment of local autonomy systems
History of prefectures
Changing number of municipalities due to municipal mergers
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11
305 75
47
1871(Meiji4)Jul. 1871(Meiji4)Dec.
1888(Meiji21)
History of prefectures (1)
History of prefectures (2)
Prefectures: Prefectures are in charge of wide-area administrative work, contact regarding municipalities, etc. In Japan, all of the municipalities and special wards are included in one of the 47 prefectures.
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■ There have been few changes to the number and boundaries of prefectures for more than 120 years since the Meiji Period
They are established among the people as regions with fairly high degrees of penetration
* There are always discussions about administrative reform that integrates today’s prefectures, but this has not been carried out because of the high degrees of penetration
* Administrative reform through integration○ Establishing do and shu as local governments instead of prefectures ○Administrative work performed by today’s prefectures would be substantially transferred to municipalities. Administrative work performed by the national government would be transferred to do and shu as much as possible.
1871 (Meiji 4)・ Fu and ken were established for the wide-area control of feudal domains in the Edo Period (three fu, 302 ken)・ Governors were established in the fu and ken・ Fu and ken were merged(three fu, 72 ken)
1886 (Meiji 19)・ Governors were under the supervision of the Home Minister
1888 (Meiji 21)・ Today’s prefectural boundaries and names were mostly determined (one do, three fu, 43 ken)
1890・ Prefectures were stipulated to be local governments, not national government administrative organs
There were more than 16,000 municipalities in Meiji 21 (1888), when the modern municipality structure was established. After the great mergers during the Showa and Heisei Periods, today this number has been reduced to 1,718 municipalities.
Great Merger of the Meiji Era
Great Merger of the Showa Era
City Town Village Total
1888 - 71,314
1889 39 15,859
October 1945 205 1,797 8,518 10,520
October 1953 286 1,966 7,616 9,868
April 1956 495 1,870 2,303 4,668
J une 1961 556 1,935 981 3,472
April 1965 560 2,005 827 3,392
April 1985 651 2,001 601 3,253
April 1999 671 1,990 568 3,229
March 2006 777 846 198 1,821
March 2010 786 757 184 1,727
April 2014 790 745 183 1,718
Month/Year
(71,314)
(15,820)
Great Merger of the Heisei Era
○ For the administrative processing of elementary schools and family registers, across Japan municipalities were merged all at once based on the standard of 300 to 500 households
* From the natural village level to organizations that are governmental bodies
○ Municipalities were merged, based on the standard of populations of 8,000 people, to efficiently establish and manage one junior high school
○ Voluntary mergers of municipalities took place for the purpose of administrative and financial reform, and to ensure fundamental administration and management functions, amidst the decentralization of power, etc.
※ 平成 26 年 4 月 5 日時点。
Changing number of municipalities due to municipal mergers
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2 Outline of administrative and financial reform in Japanese local governments
2-(1) Fundamental decentralization of power concept
Local administration around World War II
Background of administrative and financial reform
Administrative and financial reform and decentralization of power since the 1990s
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Meiji – early Showa (Constitution of the Empire of Japan)
Mayors
Ministries and government offices
Prefectural assemblies
Administrative organs
Pre
fectu
ral g
ove
rno
rs
Boards of E
ducation
Pre
fectu
ral p
olice
Prefectural citizens
Municipal assemblies
Administrative organs
Mu
nicip
al h
ea
ds
Boards of E
ducation
Municipal citizens
Local branch offices
Late Showa – today (Constitution of Japan)
Delegated functions imposed upon local governments
・ National government administrative work and local governments were controlled and supervised as national government organs・ This was abolished in 2001, making everything local government administrative work
Prefectural assemblies
Citizens
行政機関
Home Ministry
Prefectural governors
(Integrating the internal affairs field)
Appointment = government appointmentPrefectures = composite bodies of national administration and public organizations
Relationships Assembly → Head: Vote of censure Head → Assembly: Dissolution
Direct public elections (men age 25 and older)
Collegialboard
Assistant officials
City councils
Citizens
Appointments/approval
Recommendation/election
Municipal heads
Assistant officials
Municipal assemblies
Citizens
Direct public elections (men age 25 and older)
Direct public elections (men age 25 and older)
Direct public elections (men and women age 20 and older)
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Local administration around World War II
Direct public elections (men and women age 20 and older)
Recommendation/election
Direct public elections (men and women age 20 and older)
Direct public elections (men and women age 20 and older)
(1) Motivated by postwar recovery (1945 – early 1950s)
・ Restoring territory/society that had been damaged by the war ・ Constructing a legal framework for democratic local governments
Background of administrative and financial reform
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(2) Rapid economic growth and creating a “big government” (1950s – 1960s)
・ Ending the period of postwar recovery・ “ Big government” through the enhancement of public works and social welfare services
(3) Administrative organization reorganization and deregulation due to the oil crisis (1970s – 1980s)
・ From the era of high growth to low growth・ Switching from quantity to quality (social interest in environmental issues and QOL)・ Privatizing and reducing administrative work
(4) Government financial crisis and reconsidering administrative organizations (from the 1990s)
・ Local administration and social welfare services as targets for expenditure cuts・ Decentralization of power, the necessity of more effective administration and management
Administrative and financial reform and decentralization of power since the 1990s (1)
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○ First Phase of Decentralization Reform Outline of the Comprehensive Decentralization Act (passed in July 1999, executed in April 2000; comprehensive revision of 475 laws)
Restructuring of administrative work and abolition of the system for delegated functions imposed on local governments (a structure in which the head, positioned as a national government organ, is made to do national government administrative work)
Creating new rules for the national government to participate in local governments (enshrining national government participation into law, etc.)
Delegation of authority (national government → prefectures, prefectures → municipalities) (Examples) Authorization authority for the conversion of agricultural land (two to four hectares)
from the national government to prefectures City planning decision rights from prefectures to municipalities
○ Second Phase of Decentralization Reform Deregulation for local regions (reconsidering obligation and frameworks) Transferring administrative work and authority from the national government to local
governments, etc. Transferring administrative work and authority from prefectures to municipalities, etc. Enshrining discussions between the national and local governments into law
Administrative and financial reform and decentralization of power since the 1990s (2)
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○ Decentralization reform in a new stage Reform that stresses the importance of local ideas and diversity
Inviting proposals on authority transfer and deregulation for local regions Introducing the “raise your hand” format for transferring authority Detailed discussions utilizing the Advisory Council on Decentralization
Reform (an expert committee)
Enhancing information transmission by creating collections of excellent cases, utilizing social media, holding national symposiums, etc.
Creating a driving power for reform by having citizens experience the results of decentralization reform
○ Decentralization of power and administrative and financial reform
Clarifying the roles that should be played by the national and local governments through the decentralization of power
: Changing the relationship between the national and local governments from a hierarchal, master and servant relationship to an equal, cooperative relationship
Local governments perform administrative work according to their own responsibility and judgment
The necessity of insuring administrative transparency and administrative management with accountability
Towards local administrative and financial reform ・ Municipal mergers ・ Drastic revision of personnel expenses, etc. ・ Reconsidering related corporations, etc.
Administrative and financial reform and decentralization of power since the 1990s (3)
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2 Outline of administrative and financial reform in Japanese local
governments
2-(2) Administrative and financial reform in local governments
Major administrative and financial reform methods
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Major administrative and financial reform methods (1)
Firstly...
Stringency of financial affairs ・ Increased expenses related to social welfare ・ Necessity of keeping down allocation tax(deficit-covering
government bonds, extraordinary expenses for financial affairs countermeasures)
Enhanced activities by the private sector, NPOs, etc. → Local government work being performed by external
parties
Reconsidering the inefficient nature of administrative organizations
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Major administrative and financial reform methods (2)
Making organizations more efficient: This method is presupposed on people working at the same local government until the retirement age
In many cases, personnel reduction and organizational arrangement is performed by narrowing the quota for replacing retired persons
* In Japan, the thinking of the past was to use jobs at administrative bodies for employment policy
Lowering pay levels ・ Systems are determined by each local government
* However, the standard is the pay levels for private corporations and government officials
・ Exceptional methods also exist because of financial reasons 22
Major administrative and financial reform methods (3)
Making work more efficient: What will improve services to residents, corporations, and groups?
Rapidity : Shortening standard processing times (Offering one-stop services, revising inspection
processes) → (Example) Paying taxes at convenience stores
Ensuring and improving quality : This depends in many ways on accumulating human
wisdom, such as FAQs
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Major administrative and financial reform methods (4)
Sustainability of administrative resources
Drastic review of annual expenditures
Durability of administrative buildings
Bond issuance management: Equalizing bond issuance balances and reducing interest burden ratios through conversion, etc.
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Major administrative and financial reform methods (5)
Reconsidering businesses/utilizing the private sector → Reducing and abolishing businesses, outsourcing
(1) Introducing private-sector business schemes (publicly built, privately operated) ・ PFI ・ Designated manager system
(2) Introducing the vitality of private business operators into operations by local governments (consignment to the private sector)
・ Water and sewage services ・ Garbage collection
(3) Outsourcing the administrative organizations that conduct businesses ・ Local incorporated administrative agencies
(4) Abolishing businesses due to the improvement of services by private-sector business operators
・ Abolishing public corporations for housing, land, and roads
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