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Appendix 3 Follow-up Measures Considering the Progress in Negotiations on Municipal Mergers (Guideline):
Issued by Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) on March 29, 2002 (year of Heisei l4th)
I Introduction
Municipal merger is a necessary reform to achieve the municipality-centered administrative system in which residents can select policies and pay their costs by themselves: Municipal merger broadens municipalities' administrative and financial basis and improves self-reliance of municipalities. Municipal merger transforms municipalities to 'self-governed bodies with capability of self-reliance'
Municipal governments, residents, the National government and prefectural governments currently cooperate to promote municipal mergers enthusiastically in order to achieve new relationship based on the self-help and self-reliance between the national government and local governments. They follow the 'Main Policies for Administration Reform (decided by the Cabinet on December 1, 2000)' and the 'Basic Policies for the Future Operation of Economy and Fiscal Policy and for Economic and Social Structural Reform (decided by the Cabinet on June 26, 2001)'.
At national level, the National government organized the Municipal Merger Support Center in the Cabinet (decided by the Cabinet on March 27, 2001) in order to establish the strong support system as a country for municipal mergers. The National government has enthusiastically implemented advertisement and appeal to the public. Also, it has packaged the supportive programs provided by all departments and agencies to the municipalities that are taking some actions for mergers. This package is called as the 'Municipal Merger Support Plan' (decided by the Municipal Merger Support Center on August 30, 2001).
At prefectural level, almost all prefectures have organized the Municipal Merger Support Centers (hereafter referred as 'Prefectural Support Centers'), government-wide support organizations headed by the Governors. As of March 29 in 2002, in total these Centers designated 94 areas (include 416 municipalities) in 35 prefectures as the Merger Special Support Areas and the number of areas are still increasing quickly.
At municipal level, as of the end of December in 2001, 2,026 municipalities, which consist of 62.9% of all municipalities in Japan, have established 440 research organizations on merger with some other municipalities. In one-thirds (17 prefectures) of all prefectures, research organizations participated with almost all (more than 80%) municipalities in the prefecture have already been established.
Although movements toward municipal mergers have been progressed rapidly as we saw above, those discussions undertaken seriously all over the nation should be done more rapidly and steadily. Thus, at this moment all the National government, prefectural governments and municipal governments have to review their actions taken by now for promoting mergers. And they have to increase the prefecture-wide and well-planned actions more according for the development of discussions on mergers.
The Law for the Exceptional Measures for the Municipal Mergers (Law No. 6 in 1965 (year of Showa 40th), hereafter referred as 'Municipal Merger Law') will expire on March 31 in 2005 . Only three years have left. Referring to the 'Manual for the Operation of Meetings on Municipal Merger' by the Research Group that studied the Manual for the Statutory Negotiation Meeting on Municipal Merger (published on August 6, 2001, hereafter referred as 'Manual for the Meeting on Merger'), the municipalities are expected to establish the statutory meetings on merger as early as possible. In this sense, the year 2002 is the moment of truth and is considered as an important year.
II Prefectural Support Plan for Municipal Mergers
It is important, based on the each prefecture's 'Framework for the Promotion of Municipal Merger', that each prefecture should stimulate the steady municipal mergers with considering the following points.
| (1) |
Increase in Designations of Merger Special Support Areas |
As explained above, currently more than two thousand municipalities all over the nation have organized research organizations for mergers with other municipalities, and in more than one-thirds of all prefectures almost all municipalities in the prefecture participate the research organizations to discuss mergers. These numbers are expected to increase more and more from now on. Moreover, the Prefectural Support Centers have designated the 94 Merger Special Support Areas including 416 municipalities in 35 prefectures. Some prefectures designated areas where more than half of the municipalities in the prefecture is included. The National government and prefectures also provide supportive programs preferably to the Special Support Areas.
The "Guideline for Follow-up Actions Considering the 'Framework for the Promotion of Municipal Mergers'" (March 19 in 2001, year of Heisei 13th, Document No. Sou-Gyou-Shi 40, hereafter referred as the '2001 Guideline'), at chapter 2, Section 2-(2)-1 'Designation of the Merger Special Support Areas' describes that prefectures should additionally designate areas continuously according to the extent of the mood and maturity toward the merger if in the area (1) a positive mood toward a merger among residents in the area is observed, (2) the Statutory Meeting for Merger or the Voluntary Meeting, which is not based on the Municipal Merger Special Law, is established, (3)Some actions to the merger have been taken by the relevant municipalities and some of those municipalities in the area have required to the prefecture to designate the area as the Merger Special Support Area.
Therefore, considering the current movement of the municipalities with regard to the mergers and the 2001 Guideline, those prefectures which have not yet designated any one Merger Special Support Area should designate at least several areas immediately. And even those prefectures that have already designated several areas should increase the number of areas. By doing this, we expect whole territories of all prefectures are covered as much as possible with the designated Merger Special Support Areas by the early of FY 2002. We hope that in those areas Statutory Meetings will be established immediately by the end of FY 2002 and the discussions on mergers will be deepened.
| (2) |
Establishing and Expanding the Support Plans by Prefectural
Support Centers |
Considering the expiration date of the Municipal Merger Law, the Prefectural Support Centers have to support the mergers for the following three fiscal years according to the development of the negotiation for municipal mergers in each area.
Therefore, by the end of the first half of the FY 2002, the Prefectural Support Centers should establish or expand the Support Plans which includes the following actions and inform it to the public.
The Support Plans by the Prefectural Support Centers should be followed up every end of the year and the result of the follow-up should be informed to the public and the plans should be revised if necessary.
| i) |
Supportive Programs in Each Policy Area:
| ・ |
The prioritized implementation of the prefectural programs
and concentrated investments |
| ・ |
Loosening of conditions for the designation of the Special
Support Area |
| ・ |
Positive consideration with regard to the area designation |
| ・ |
Getting rid of the some hazards for mergers |
| ・ |
Supports for the merger of public organizations, and so on |
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| ii) |
Empowerment
| ・ |
Comprehensive empowerments to cities with some size of the
population and so on. |
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| iii) |
Personnel Support to the merger meetings etc. responding to
the requests by the relevant municipalities
| ・ |
Participation to the merger meeting |
| ・ |
Sending an officials to the office of merger meeting |
| ・ |
Receiving the officials from the relevant municipalities for
the purpose of training and so on |
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| iv) |
Consideration for keeping the negotiations continuously at
the merger meeting
| ・ |
Advice according for the Manual for the Operation of Merger
Meeting etc. |
| ・ |
Coordination at the time of the stuck of the negotiation |
| ・ |
Coordination about the conditions in the merger agreement |
| ・ |
Advice for the City Planning after Merger and so on |
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| v) |
Research and Analysis
| ・ |
Support for the formulation of the long-term fiscal and administrative
perspective of the municipalities and so on |
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| vi) |
Focused Implementation of Information Programs
| ・ |
Holding Symposiums and Lectures |
| ・ |
Cooperative implementation of statistical research on public
opinions |
| ・ |
Informational programs implemented with cooperation with the
private organizations in order to encourage the understandings of the residents |
| ・ |
Sending the knowledgeable people and so on. |
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| (3) |
Complete Provision of the Information |
Just as municipal governments have to be accountable to the residents living in their territories, prefectural governments have to be accountable to the residents living in their territories. Thus, prefectures should thoroughly provide the following information to its residents;
| i) |
Progress in the Negotiation on Merger |
Prefectures should follow the latest progress in the current negotiations on mergers in their territories and should provide their residents with information on the progress of the merger negotiations at least every quarter of year through the Prefectural Support Centers. On a map in the newsletters, they can show the status of the designation of the Merger Special Areas, the establishment of the Statutory Meetings, Voluntary Meetings and unofficial research groups etc. so that the residents understand easily.
| ii) |
Discussion on Municipal Merger at Prefecture level |
Prefectures should provide the information about discussions over municipal merger at prefecture level; For example, via the Internet, prefectures can provide the reports on discussion over municipal merger at the prefectural congress.
| iii) |
Information at Prefecture Level Cooperated to the Information
Provided at Municipal Level |
Prefectures should provide information from the point of their own view at prefectural level if necessary, while municipalities are providing information. For example, the simulation of mergers and other appeals would be appropriate.
| (4) |
Cooperation with the Private Sector |
The prefectures are expected to implement the following programs as part of the appeal and the public relations activity in order to encourage the mood toward the municipal mergers;
| i) |
Support for the Activities of Residents for Municipal Mergers
Such as Residents Initiative |
In order to stimulate the discussion over municipal mergers aiming at the Residents Initiative in each area, the prefectures would provide information to the people who organize the initiative and would implement other activities to support them.
MPHPT will issue an Official Notice for administration of the law, 'Law for revising part of the Local Autonomy Law and other laws'. This legislation has just passed and includes expansion of the initiative system, residents voting system and so on (refer to (2) of III). After the enactment of this law, the prefectures need to actively inform this Notice.
| ii) |
Support for Establishing and Managing a Branch Office of the
'National Meeting to Consider the Municipal Mergers in 21st
century' |
On March 30 in 2001, 'National Meeting to consider the municipal mergers in 21st century' (Representative organizer of establishment: Mr. Kotaro Higuchi, CEO of Asahi Beer Co.) was established in order to conduct a variety of the public relations activities to form the national agreement and stimulate the mood toward the realization of municipal mergers and to encourage the review of their own shape of their communities through the discussion of municipal mergers. And this organization cooperatively has held the relay symposia in all 47 prefectures.
Moreover, branches of this organization were opened in Okayama, Hiroshima and Saga prefectures. From February in 2002, they started gathering members at the Web site of this organization and sending mail magazines to give and exchange information. These activities are expected to be enhanced.
Therefore, prefectures would support for establishing and operating branch offices of the National Meeting to Consider the Municipal Mergers in 21st Century in order to stimulate the mood for municipal mergers with the cooperation between governments and the private sector.
| iii) |
Implementation of Municipal Merger Advisors Training Program |
Prefectures should train and resister municipal merger advisors who can explain the necessity of merger to the residents with consideration to the character of the area. The Prefectures should send them responding to the request from these areas.
| iv) |
Support for Municipal Mergers Across Borders of Prefectures |
As for municipal mergers across the border of prefectures, the 'Decision of the Merger Special Support Area', 2-(2)-1 of Chapter 2 of 2001 Guideline says that it is not denied that adjunct prefectures, if necessary, negotiate with each other and are designated as one Merger Special Support Area across their borders together. Now there is an actual case that established a research group for municipal mergers across the prefectural border. Thus prefectures are expected to respond appropriately with considering the opinions of residents and municipalities.
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