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1st General Meeting of the 29th Local Government System Research Council


Tuesday, July 3, 2007



Photograph of the 1st general meeting of the 29th Local Government System Research Council


Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the 1st general meeting of the 29th Local Government System Research Council held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

The Local Government System Research Council is established with the purpose of comprehensively examining the current local government system and researching and deliberating important matters on the local government system, in response to the request for consultation by the Prime Minister. At the beginning of the meeting, the Council members conducted a mutual vote and Mr. Kunio Nakamura was elected the Chair of the 29th Local Government System Research Council.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Abe addressed the Council, saying, "My Cabinet is promoting the reform of the decentralization of power from central to local government as a top priority issue. It is vital that we develop a local government system capable of accommodating genuine decentralization and realize a structure in which the core basic local governments can play a leading role in community building. Aiming to build such a system and structure, I would like the Council to discuss fully the role to be played by basic local governments with a view to municipal consolidation and other needs, as well as the administrative and financial system of local government, including enhancement and strengthening of auditing functions. I hope the Council's discussion will produce concrete reform results." Prime Minister Abe then handed a consultation document to Chair Nakamura.