### ②More flexible disposition (diversion, assignment, etc.) of an object property for a subsidy

In principle, for the disposition of a property after a lapse of 10 years it is not required to make any payments to the national treasury and is to be handled under the reporting system

The disposition of property due to a disaster or a merger among municipalities and so on deserves full consideration, even before a lapse of 10 years

## [Chapter 4] Two Important Issues of the Day

## ①The issue of turning special revenue resources for road construction into general revenue resources

When considering their reclassification into general revenue resources, both the enhancement of local tax revenues including the transfer of tax revenues and measures for giving local governments greater freedom to improve local roads should be studied

## ②Unification of consumer administration

Clarification of the legal status of Consumer Affairs Centers, and drastic measures to support the efforts of local autonomous entities

● Powers should be broadly transferred to prefectures in terms of report collection, on-site inspections and orders for improvement in the case of an accident

## [Chapter 5] Issues to be Studied in relation to the Second Recommendation

①Basic direction for reforming the outpost agencies of the central government

②Cross-sectional review of legal frameworks (obligations, framing, etc.)

Based on the “Initial Recommendation,” the government decided on the “Decentralization Reform Promotion Platform (The First Version)” on June 20, 2008.

The Decentralization Reform Promotion Committee continued its investigations and deliberations, and then compiled and submitted the “Second Recommendation” to the Prime Minister on December 8, 2008.

## Decentralization Reform Promotion Committee the “Second Recommendation” Outline (December 8, 2008)

## [Chapter 1] Review of Obligations and Framing

## ①Basic concept of the review

☑ Establishment of “local governments” as “completely autonomous entities” with autonomous administrative powers, autonomous legislative powers, and autonomous financial powers

● Enhancement of ordinance-making powers, including expansion of the scope of areas where national laws and regulations can be “overwritten”

● Autonomy of local autonomous entities to become enhanced through greater freedom from the legal viewpoint; construction of schemes based on which local authorities execute public administration on their own responsibility

## ②Policy for review

(a) Scope setting for both obligations and framing

Autonomous affairs that are obligated and/or framed by national laws and regulations, with no room allowed for any autonomous decisions on the basis of ordinances (approximately 10,000 provisions)

(b)Specific policy for review

Provisions that do not meet the criteria for judgment that need to be reviewed in either of the following ways:

(1) Abolishment (inclusive of making a certain provision into just a recommendation)

(2) Comprehensive transfer of procedures, criteria for judgment and so on in relation to ordinances or permissions of the corresponding ordinance revisions ("overwrite")

(3) Partial transfer of procedures, criteria for judgment and so on in relation to ordinances or permissions of the corresponding ordinance revisions ("overwrite")

The review should be conducted in the order from (1) to (3) above.

(c) Criteria for judgment setting in cases where the continuation of obligations and/or framing is allowed.

## ③Judgment as to whether or not the provisions meet the criteria for judgment

Among the entire provisions concerning obligations and/or framing (approx. 10,000 provisions)

Provisions that meet the criteria for judgment 51.8%; Provisions that do not meet the criteria for judgment 48.2%

Among 184 provisions concerning recommendations and the like by the National Governors’ Association and/or the Japan Association of City Mayors

Provisions that meet the criteria for judgment 8.3%; Provisions that do not meet the criteria for judgment 91.7%