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Proposal
for “Dispersed Functions of the Capital City”: A
Framework that Incurs No Extra Costs to Citizens
—Defining the Issue as a Major National Undertaking—
(April 23, 2003)
Shift of Capital from Tokyo Committee |
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This
proposal assumes the viewpoint that “the relocation of
the functions of the capital is indispensable to opening the way for
Japan’s structural reforms,” and aims to present
a nationally acceptable framework for the shift.
Based on the report of the Council for Relocation of the Diet
and Other Organizations drafted in December 1999, procedures
are underway for collectively shifting the functions of the capital (functions
of the Diet, government, and Supreme Court) to one of the
selected candidate sites. The sites include the Tochigi-Fukushima
area, Gifu-Aichi area, and Mie-Kio area. The Special Committee
on Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations formed by
members of the both the House of Councilors and House of Representatives
has been weighing the choices for some time now.
Although public interest concerning this issue has remained
low, the Diet has been making some headway. |
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| (i) |
There was a move
to reconsider the framework for a collective transfer of the
functions of the capital presented in the report of the Council for Relocation
of the Diet and Other Organizations. As alternatives, the
Diet began to explore the dispersal of functions and small-scale
transfers. |
| (ii) |
Against a backdrop
of a deflationary recession, arguments opposing the shift
have intensified on the grounds that the cost of the relocation
would be substantial. |
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| In light of this
situation, this proposal advocates a framework for a “dispersed
capital” that would not incur any public burden in terms
of cost. Specifically, it recommends small-scale shifts of
the functions of the capital to all three candidate sites as the most
realistic framework for the relocation. |
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