To foreign residents living in Osaka City

Are you aware of the upcoming referendum on
the “Osaka Metropolis Plan” (establishing special wards)?
Osaka City is an ordinance-designated city, which means that it has more authority than other cities
and is regarded as the equivalent of a prefectural government.

However, there is a proposal to abolish Osaka City and reorganize it into special wards (localgovernments under the jurisdiction of Osaka Prefecture, currently envisioned to be divided into fourspecial wards) like Tokyo’s 23 wards. And a referendum on the proposal (residents’ vote on setting up
special wards) is scheduled for November 1.

Foreign residents in Osaka City are not allowed to participate in this referendum because only

those with voting rights can participate. Our citizen group, “MINJU” (All People’s Referendum) in themeantime, has requested the Diet and the Osaka City Council to allow foreign residents to vote as well,
but it has not been successful.

However, the abolition of Osaka City and its reorganization into special wards will also have a great
impact on the lives of foreign residents in areas such as education, welfare, transportation, and theenvironment. Therefore, we are conducting a questionnaire survey asking foreigners (who cannot

participate in the referendum) if they have interest in the referendum, and what kinds of interests andopinions they have for the future of Osaka City. Please read the information on the back of this pageand complete the survey.

Please fill out the attached survey.
We will announce the results of the survey to the public at a press conference, on our website, andthrough SNS after the referendum has been voted on. We would like the results to be made public sothat the opinions of those unable to vote will be clearly conveyed. Whatever the outcome may be, wewould like to continue our activities so that foreign residents will be able to join us in creating a more
multicultural Osaka.

MINJU (All People’s Referendum)!
〒 545-0041 1-6-5 Kyoritudori Abeno-ku Osaka-city
E-mail: minnadetohyo@gmail.com
Tel (Japanese only): 070-4233-6362 Fax: 06-6656-6897
https://minnadetohyo.info/ https://www.facebook.com/minjuosaka

What will happen if Osaka City is abolishedand changed into four special wards?
FACTS we know

1. Osaka City and its 24 wards will be abolished and changed into four wards: Yodogawa-ku, Kita-ku,Chuo-ku, and Tennoji-ku. We will never ever recover Osaka City.
2. There will be no Osaka City Mayor nor Osaka City Council. Instead, there will be 4 special ward chiefs
and 4 ward councils (elected by voting).
3. Osaka City’s current monetary and property ownership will be divided among Osaka Prefecture andthe special 4 wards. Municipal taxes, property taxes, corporate citizen taxes, and money from thestate will be directed to Osaka Prefecture and 80% of it will be divided among the 4 wards.
Osaka City has assets: facilities, land and savings. The facilities and land will be owned by therespective wards where they are located, whereas savings will be divided among the 4 wards.
4. Osaka City’s city planning jurisdiction will be taken over by the special wards’ small scale planning andmaintenance services within the respective wards. The jurisdiction of larger plans beyond the ward
and city boundaries will be under Osaka Prefecture.
5. Osaka-fu (prefecture) will not become Osaka-to (metropolis). A new law would be necessary to create
Osaka-to (metropolis).

FORECAST: The divided opinions we anticipate
IssuesFavorable opinions

Unfavorable opinions

Dualadministration

The dual administrations of Osaka
Prefecture and Osaka City will beeliminated. The special wards have as
much authority as “core cities.” If they
properly divide their roles between theprefecture and special wards, they canstreamline their work. For example,
wards can take care of the basic resident
services and Osaka Prefecture can beengaged in broader city plans.

Abolishing Osaka City and creating a prefecture andspecial ward system does not mean the end of thedual administration. The special wards have below
municipal authority and don’t even have power
to supply water, sewerage, fire, and emergency
services on their own. Special wards have limited
financial resources and authority. It will be difficult
to determine their local issues on their own. The
administration will become ineffective.

Services forresidents

The same resident services will bemaintained for 10 years. Residents canelect their ward chiefs and ward council
members by voting. The elected council
members can respond to residents’ needs
better. As the saying goes, “the nearer,the better.” The nearer the relationships
are, the better services can be supplied.

It’s not clear what kinds of services residents will beable to receive after 10 years. Some of the projects,
such as care insurance and care businesses, will
be commissioned to some office unions, which will
create a triple administration. The projects whichhave been administered under 24 wards will be
under 4 wards, resulting in unsatisfactory responses
to local residents’ needs.

Broader regional development can be
pushed with speed and stimulate theeconomy. In order to revitalize the postcovid-19 economy, Osaka Prefecture andCity should be united.

It will prevent the administration from being able toreflect public opinion on large scale development
projects such as the casino and IR (IntegratedResort). Abolishing Osaka City at a time of extreme
difficulty under the corona pandemic will only disrupt
people’s lives and hinder economic revitalization.

The tax revenue reduction due to thecorona pandemic is difficult to calculate.
Even if it is affected by the pandemic, thecost reduction and new business (IR) will
help make the special zone's finances inthe black.

The financial situation will deteriorate due to thecost of splitting Osaka City into special wards,
the decrease in tax revenue, and the increase in
expenditure due to the corona pandemic. Expenses
for city swimming pools, welfare centers for theelderly, and the Child-Rearing Plazas will be reduced.

Developmentand economy

Finance*There has been no discussion about policies for foreign residents and residential services for foreigners.