Study On The Decentralization Reform In Japan

The decentralization reform in Japan was an important administrative systemreform after World War II. It was based on the burst of Japanese economic bubble in1980s in the20th century, declining birthrate and aging population in Japanese society,as well as people’s disstisfaction with the centralization system dominated by the LDP(Liberal Democratic Party of Japan).Beginning at1995and ending in2012DPJ’s(Democratic Party of Japan) defeatin the election, the decentralization reform in Japan, from the differences of the rulingparty’s ruling philosophy and leading policy, can be divided into two stages.At the firststage before2009, it was the “decentralization reform” led by LDP.This phase of thedecentralization reform, in fact was to start from the reform of the local pulicadministration, and afterwards deepen to the “fiscal reform”, converting into the reformincluding both administrative system and fiscal system.Specifically, it pushed to repealthe “assigned function” and carry out the the “trinity reform”, which served as therepresentative of the administrative and fiscal reform. But the LDP’s reform, if onlyfrom the “decentraliazation”point, is not complete. The reform didn’t define the realmission of the “decentralization”in the slogan. It usually abolished the assigned functionand local instruments of government based on stremlining the institutions and spendingcuts. Junichiro Koizumi’s “trinity reform” was also the same. It can only be sait thatthey were bitter enemies in the same boat.At the second stage, it was the “regional sovereignty reform” led by the DPJafter2009. The reform was guided by DPJ’s first prime minister Hatoyama Yukio andhis cabinet with a series of resolutions. It was based on the equal partnership betweenthe nation(the central government) and the regional governments. It dedicated toabandon the unilateral deciion mode imposed on the regional governments by the nation.The system was to be replaced by the reform which respected the independentjudgements of the regional governments.Thus the national and the regional governmentscan together decide the state affairs.The reform was ideal in wish. But when it wascarried out in a single sovereign state like Japan, it was not practical. The reform wascritized by a variety of roles, particularly from the right-wing conservatives.Coupled with the East Japan Earthquake and its political and economic implications, as well asthe DPJ’s defeat in the election in2012, it made the concept of the “regional sovereigntyreform” cannot be achieved fundamentally.Genarally speaking, the decentralization reform was based on a series of Japanesepolitical, social and economic problems. Japan had to take passive measures to tacklewith. Since it deviated from Japanese historical and cultural traditions under the singlesystem, it was beset with many barriers in the reform process of successive goverments.Drawing lessons from Japanese decenralization reform, it is helpful to the currentreform of China’s central and local administrative management system.