and Management Systems Should Be to Fulfill Purchasers’ Liabilities.” Based on the discussions at the Conference, the MLIT puts together the Guidelines for Applying Tendering and Contracting Methods to Public Works Projects to show how to apply tendering and contracting methods according to the characteristics of projects in May 2015.

## (3) Coordination and Support among Orderers

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the Guidelines, the MLIT works to enhance coordination among orderers through the regional council of orderers and the coordination meeting on public works contracts, and pushes forward handling of shared issues of orderers and various measures. Specifically, we reviewed the structure of the regional council of orderers by establishing prefectural working groups, setting up various consultation desks at Regional Development Bureaus, and creating the headquarters for supporting orderers of public works headed by Development Bureaus and the like.

## Section 9

## Forming a New Phase of Relationships between the Central and Local Governments and Private Sectors

## 1 New Phase of Relationships between the Central and Local Governments

Based on appropriate division of roles between the central and regional governments, the MLIT promotes decentralization by transferring administration and authority in responding to important issues that include the formation of a vibrant economic society and regions. In FY 2014, a proposal solicitation program has started to invite local governments to submit their own proposals and explore ways to implement them with the aim of promoting new initiatives based on proposals of local governments. As a result, response policies were adopted by a Cabinet decision, and matters that require amendments to the laws were incorporated in the Act Concerning Establishment of Relevant Laws to Promote Reforms to Enhance Regional Autonomy and Independence (the Fifth Omnibus Decentralization Act), thereby revising obligations and frameworks, including the removal of the requirement to obtain consent of the prefectural governor when municipalities assign building officials. Examination results of FY 2015 were adopted as response policies by a Cabinet decision, and the sixth Omnibus decentralization bill, which includes the provision that enables municipalities to develop their own plans for securing stable residency for the elderly was submitted to the Diet.

## 2 Driving Public-Private Partnerships, etc

In order to promote the forming of specific projects towards the expansion of PPP/PFI markets, the MLIT subsidizes local governments and facilitates the formation of forums for industry-academia-finance-government discussions (regional platform) aimed at sharing and acquiring expertise and enhancing coordination between relevant parties. In FY 2015, the MLIT adopted 20 pioneering PPP projects and 12 public-private partnership projects for earthquake reconstruction. The MLIT provided support, for example, in conducting surveys in Sanjo-shi, Niigata, on the ideal ways of comprehensively contracting out multiple public facilities under different jurisdictions to the private sector. Also, a meeting was set up for eight blocks across Japan for core members of each regional platform consisting of local governments that have at least 200,000 people, universities, companies, regional banks, and other organizations.