Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power. 

With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when the Comprehensive Decentralization Law was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.

 

The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when COVID-19 was prevalent in Japan. The national government tried to contain contagion of the corona virus through revised version of the act on infectious diseases, which included declaration of emergency to request closure of restaurants. However, the national government did not have any legal authority for restricting the people going out.

 

The national government thought that it could not save lives and health of the people from COVID-19, because there was no comprehensive law which could let it exercise coercive power onto the local government to restrict the people’s activities in emergency. The national government submitted a bill of revised Local Autonomy Law in this March.

 

The Local Autonomy Law is a basic law which determines the relationship between the national and local government. It defines the role of local governments, rights and duties of residents, and system about ordinance or local assembly. The revised law will enable the national government to instruct the local governments in emergency, if it passes the Diet. “Each minister can issue a necessary instruction to local government, when a significant event which affects safety of the people occurs,” says the bill.

 

Some laws, such as the Disaster Management Basic Act, include provisions for the national government to instruct the local government. The amendment of Local Autonomy Law will give the national government that power available in anytime when the government realizes an emergency.

 

In the discussion in the House of Representatives, the opposition parties argued that the amendment would reverse the movement of decentralization. The Minister for Internal Affairs, Takeaki Matsumoto, dismissed the argument, because the instruction would be limited in an event affecting people’s safety. Matsumoto did not say the details about how the instruction would be approved or verified by the Diet.

 

The national government has not thoroughly reviewed whether its request of staying home or closing shops and restaurants had worked or not in the COVID-19 time. The question is: Could the lost lives have been saved, if the national government had the arbitral power over the local government? Without necessary evaluation of its policy effect, the government of Japan is trying to enhance its power over the people.

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