Municipal Mergers in Japan

Abstract

This paper summarizes the municipal mergers that have been implemented over the past in Japan. The focus of this paper is an evaluation of the “the Heisei Mergers” (1999-2010) conducted to change socioeconomic issues such as declining population, declining birthrate and aging population, and establish the administrative and financial infrastructure appropriate for the basic municipality that will serve as a base for decentralization. The author takes an in-depth look at the effect of municipal merger and future municipalities.