The , passed by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17, Ministry of Justice, 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 territori ...

that established most of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's contemporary

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

structures and

administrative divisions Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

, including prefectures,

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

Local public entities

The classification of (LPEs) are: *Ordinary LPEs ** Prefectures (to, dō, fu and ken) **

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

***

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

***

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

***

Villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

*Special LPEs (incomplete) **

Special wards of Tokyo The of Tokyo are a special form of Municipalities of Japan, municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Act, Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparabl ...

**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 is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

, 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

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 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 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 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.

References

External links

Current text
(in Japanese)

(in English) * {{Authority control Japanese legislation 1947 in law Government of Japan

Local public entities

Revision

See also

References

External links