The , passed by the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and the
House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
, Japanese Law Translation Database System
Local Autonomy Act
/ref> is an Act of devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
that established most of Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
's contemporary local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
structures and administrative divisions
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
, including prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
, municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and other entities. On July 16, 1999, the law was amended to eliminate administrative functions imposed upon local governments by the central governments and to establish Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes. The law and other relevant laws have been amended after the revision to promote decentralization
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
.
Local public entities
The classification of (LPEs) are:
*Ordinary LPEs
**Prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
(to, dō, fu and ken)
**Municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
***Cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
***Towns
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
***Villages
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
*Special LPEs (incomplete)
**Special wards of Tokyo
are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities.
Although the autono ...
**Unions of LPEs
***Partial operating unions
***Full operating unions
***Office operating unions
***Regional unions
**Property districts
**Regional development enterprises
Ordinary LPEs are the basic local governments. The distinction between ordinary and special LPEs is primarily relevant under the Constitution of Japan
The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitution r ...
, which grants ordinary LPEs particular rights, including:
* Direct elections (Article 93.2)
* The right to legislate (Article 94)
* Citizen referendum prior to enactment of any statute which specifically affects the LPE (Article 95)
Special LPEs do not have these authorities except as otherwise provided by statute. While special wards are regarded as basic local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
s within Tokyo, other special LPEs are consortia of LPEs for specific fields such as schools, waterworks and waste management.
LPEs are self-governing in many respects, but report indirectly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...
in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, which monitors relations between LPEs, as well as relations between LPEs and the government. The Ministry generally approves all inter-prefectural special LPEs, while inter-municipal special LPEs are approved by prefectural governors.
Revision
The Local Autonomy Act (paragraph 5 of Article 2) was revised in 1969 that required local governments to produce a forward-looking Basic Plan (kihon keikaku) for their long-term economic and social development, to cover a duration of around 25 years. It has to be approved by the elected local council as part of a comprehensive planning that tied to the local fiscal decision. Takegawa notes that in 1970, less than 10% of local governments had made comprehensive plans, by 1975 the number had gone up to 75%, and in 1980 it was almost 90%.
In January 2011, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...
announced plans to revise the law to enable the national government to investigate the laws of the LPEs for extralegality and place lawsuits against them if they fail to correct their actions.
See also
* City designated by government ordinance
A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law.
Designated cities are delegate ...
* Decentralisation in Japan
Decentralisation in Japan is a political reform to gain autonomy of the local territories in Japan. The plan officially began in 1981 because of the 1970s energy crisis and the disparity between Tokyo and other prefectures, that caused to steaml ...
References
External links
Current text
(in Japanese)
(in English)
*
{{Authority control
Japanese legislation
1947 in law
Government of Japan