Editorial
National Governors' Association given breath of fresh air by Hashimoto, Higashikokubaru
Unprecedentedly active discussions at a recent meeting of the National Governors' Association (NGA) held in Ise, Mie Prefecture through Wednesday suggest that governors have been inspired by a series of radical remarks and actions by Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto.
The NGA's latest meeting drew particular attention because it was attended by Hashimoto and comedian-turned Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru, with an unusually heated debate ensuing.
The NGA decided not to express support for any political party in the upcoming House of Representatives election, as proposed by Hashimoto and Higashikokubaru, due to a lack of support. However, the NGA voted to allocate points to the manifestos of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), coalition partner Komeito and the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) to evaluate policies they will promise to implement if they win the general election.
In its evaluation of political parties' manifestos, the NGA intends to attach particular importance to each party's response to the proposed establishment of a consultative body between the national and local governments on decentralization of power and its demand that local governments be given the right to approve or reject decentralization plans. The NGA's plan to allocate points to political parties' manifestos is a realistic ways for local governments to openly make requests from political parties during the Lower House race.
In addition, a review of local governments' financial burden for public works projects undertaken by the national government was proposed by Gov. Hashimoto. The NGA agreed to work out unified standards for the scope of public works projects for which local governments will pay, and refuse to make contributions to such projects from this fiscal year depending on the response by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. The NGA's solidarity on the issue should be highly appreciated as the national government has tended to take advantage of its authority to control public works projects to silence local governments.
The NGA had been far from active over the past several years. Former Iwate Gov. Hiroya Masuda and former Miyagi Gov. Shiro Asano, who called themselves reformist governors, insisted that the NGA should struggle with the central government, and clashed with it over plans to reduce the national government's subsidies to local governments, shift tax sources to local governments and review the central government's allocation of local tax grants as part of decentralization of power.
However, the national government responded by cutting local tax grants by 5 trillion yen. Many governors became increasingly wary of the possibility that prefectural governments would be forced to shoulder additional costs in return for decentralization.
The governors, many of them previously bureaucrats and hesitant to confront the central government, have apparently been inspired by Hashimoto's radical remarks. However, the NGA should exercise self-restraint, in order to prevent itself from becoming a lobbyists' group representing the interests of its members' respective regional communities. It should consider how far it can take over social security programs from the national government in demanding an increase in the allocation of revenue from the consumption tax to local governments.
The limelight that the NGA has recently enjoyed shouldn't simply fade away before the general election.
(Mainichi Japan) July 16, 2009