A Proposal for Local Governing Systems of Large Cities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Ordinance-designated cities have various problems regarding achieving democracy and local autonomy from the national and prefectural governments. This article points out some of those problems based on the experiences of the author as a former mayor of Kawasaki City and presents some ideas to solve such problems.

In a democracy, the election of one person for mayor by an enormous number of votes often results in the selection of a famous or performance-oriented candidate who lacks the capability to serve as a mayor. To avoid this tendency, the author recommends selecting candidates from within the city assembly. In order to correctly reflect the opinions of residents in the actions of a city's administration, a new system should be introduced at the ward level. To ensure the independence of large cities, two kinds of system reform are recommended. One is to transfer all the power and responsibilities of the prefecture to the corresponding ordinance-designated city, and the other is to introduce the system of municipalities implemented by Tokyo Metropolitan Government.