Preface
It is our pleasure to have the privilege to publish "The Japanese Local Administration System", which is one of the English language publication series on the local government in Japan.
Nowadays the situation of local government is changing dramatically also urged to work out a drastic measure. So, the Ministry of Home Affairs and local governments are buckling down to various kinds of renovations, such as decentralization, structural reformation on public finance, and so on.
This booklet gives an outline of the present condition in Japan.
The Japanese manuscript was edited by International Affairs Division of the Minister's Secretariat of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The translation into English was made by staff members of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Our thanks are due to their effort put into their work.
Finally, we should express our appreciation to The Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation (The Nippon Foundation), which has provided not only financial support for the publication but continuous assistance.
Toshio Yuasa
Chairman
Executive Board of Japan Center for Local Autonomy
Tokyo, March 1999
