is a proposal to organize Japan into one
circuit (''dō'') of
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
and several new
states
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
(''shū'') that are each a combination of several
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...
. The states and circuit are proposed to have greater regional autonomy, similar to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It was proposed by the
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
administration, but has yet to materialize.
Most of the political parties in 2012 supported this reform.
History
An early proposal to replace the prefectures with states ''(-shū)'' and transform Japan into a
federal state
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...
was
Ueki Emori's 1881 draft constitution (
:ja:東洋大日本国国憲按, ''Tōyō Dai-Nihon-koku kokken-an''), one of the more well-known and radical manifestations of the many so-called "private" (i.e. not government-sponsored) constitutional drafts that sprang from the
Freedom and People's Rights Movement
The Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, ''Jiyū Minken Undō'') was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy during the Meiji era, Meiji period. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the ...
in the 1880s.
National Diet Library
The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
: Modern Japan in Archives
UEKI Emori's Conception of a Constitution
/ref>
File:Region system9.png, Project with 9 administrative divisions
File:Region system11.png, Project with 11 administrative divisions
File:Region system13.png, Project with 13 administrative divisions
See also
* Osaka Metropolis Plan
* Chukyo Metropolis proposal
*Autonomous communities of Spain
The autonomous communities () are the first-level political divisions of Spain, administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Constitution of Spain, Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonom ...
, similar grouping of Spanish provinces
A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
References
External links
The Future of Japan: A Case for Abolishing Prefectures and Establishing States
Government of Japan
Federalism by country
Local government in Japan
{{japan-law-stub