Discussion over Autonomy Act Starts

The Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications of the House of Representatives began discussion over amendment of the Local Autonomy Act, which would vest the national government an authority of issuing “directions” to the local governments in the time of emergency. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing it would fundamentally break up the parity between the national and the local governments. 

The discussion for the amendment started last December, when the Local Government System Research Council, an advisory organization for the Prime Minister, submitted a report on Japanese society in post-COVID era.

 

Referring to the measures for infected passengers on a major cruising ship, the Diamond Princess, in which the national and local government were required integrated actions beyond the border of governments, the report concluded that the Local Autonomy Act should be amended to deal with that kind of events.

 

“To ensure that necessary measures can appropriately and quickly be made for protect life, body and property of the people, the national government should be authorized, based on provisions of the Local Autonomy Act, to be able to issue a direction toward the local governments,” said the report. The Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, endorsed the report and ordered to consider the amendment of the law.

 

The opposition parties firmly against the reason for new legislation. In the measures dealing with explosive contagion of COVID-19 in local communities, there appeared misguidance of policies with communication gap between the national and the local governments. However, it was mainly based on scarcity of human and financial resources. It is obvious that the national government could not made complete containment of the infection, if it had authority to issue a “direction.”

 

The bill submitted to the Diet include a clause for consultation of the national government to the local government before issuing a direction. However, it only requires the national government to make its best to do that. It cannot exclude a possibility that the national government issue a discretionary order toward the local governments.

 

The legislation may not only change the relationship between the national and the local governments, but make the local government wait and see in a situation of emergency until the national government issues a direction.

 

The Liberal Democratic Party published its own draft for the constitutional amendment in 2012. The draft includes a chapter for emergency and the Article 98 enables the prime minister to issue a declaration of emergency. And the prime minister can issue a direction to the head of local governments in emergency. The LDP recognized the authority of direction as a matter of constitutional amendment, not of revision of an existing law.

 

The opposition parties have a concern that adding a clause of direction means preparing for a war. A strong authority of the national government over local communities and the people reminds them of the National Mobilization Act in the wartime. Some local assemblies or an organization of local governors submitted their opinion against the legislation. The issue may become another concern for Kishida’s political basis.

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