Abstract
Yubari City (Hokkaido), which shifted to a municipality under fiscal rehabilitation in March 2007, fears deterioration in educational conditions because its educational budgets were greatly cut and because elementary and junior high schools were to be integrated to resolve a deficit of 35.3 billion yen swollen by accounting fraud. But what is not clarified is the extent to which the integration of schools will contribute to the fiscal reconstruction. The possibility of continuing additional schools should be considered from an educational viewpoint after fully disclosing to residents information on the additional fiscal burden if two or more schools are continued. And it is also necessary that bodies presumed to be concerned in the accounting fraud-including the national government and Hokkaido-should bear responsibility for it, and reduce the amount of the deficit to be paid by Yubari City to a just and practicable level.
