OVERVIEW OF TOKYO

THE STRUCTURE OF THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT (TMG)

Tokyo is a prefecture encompassing 23 special wards, 26 shi, 5 cho and 8 son, but it has certain characteristics that distinguish it from the other prefectures. The special ward (ku) is an entity only found in Tokyo. In the 23 special-ward area, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government takes on part of the work usually assigned to the municipal government of a shi (city). A special administrative system therefore exists between the TMG and the 23 special wards which is not seen elsewhere in the country. The main characteristics of this system are as follows:

Management of Services

The TMG manages services such as waterworks, sewerage and fire fighting for the whole 23 special-ward area as a single body. In other parts of the country, by law these services are under the jurisdiction of the municipal governments of shi (cities). In the case of Tokyo, these services are managed by the TMG to ensure uniform, efficient services across the whole of the densely-populated 23 special-ward area.

Taxes

Since the TMG takes on some of the administrative work which elsewhere in the country would be handled by the shi authorities, TMG levies and collects taxes which elsewhere would be collected by the shi. These taxes include the corporate portion of residents' taxes, and the fixed assets tax.

TMG 23 Special-ward Financial Adjustment System

Through this system, the TMG makes financial adjustments both between itself and the 23 special wards and among the 23 special wards themselves. In the 23 special-ward area, the TMG and the 23 special wards are responsible for the administrative affairs usually covered by shi, and they share the tax revenue sources required for the costs incurred. The financial adjustment system is designed to ensure a balanced distribution of these financial resources. At present, a certain proportion of the tax revenue from the three metropolitan taxes (corporate portion of the residents' tax, fixed assets tax and special land ownership tax) is allocated to the ward governments. The financial adjustment among the 23 special wards is also designed to redress imbalances in an individual ward's financial resources due to uneven distribution of fiscal resource revenue. When a ward's basic fiscal need exceeds its basic fiscal revenues, the difference is made up in the form of allocations from the TMG.

Transfer of Jurisdiction

The ward system has undergone a number of reforms to become what it is today. Through a reform undertaken in 1974, the 23 special wards were empowered to elect their mayors by popular vote and handle affairs similar to other cities. However, since the 23 special wards continued to be viewed as internal organizations of the Metropolis, various problems arose. These included a lack of clarity in the allocation of roles and administrative responsibilities of the 23 special wards and the metropolitan government; interference with the autonomy of the 23 special wards; and the inability of the metropolitan government to implement thorough urban administration from a comprehensive viewpoint.

In order to solve these problems, the metropolitan government and the 23 special wards studied various different ways to reform the system, and requested the central government to reform the related laws and regulations. As a result, it was decided that jurisdiction over administrative operations that touch closely on residents' lives, such as waste management, should be transferred as far as possible to the 23 special wards. New legislation passed on May 8, 1998 brought about a partial reform of the Local Autonomy Law. By increasing the independence and autonomy of the 23 special wards through the strengthening of their fiscal autonomy, this law established the 23 special wards as basic local public entities. The new ward system came into operation in the capital on April 1, 2000.