PRINCIPAL POLICIES OF THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT

Opposition to Transfer of the Capital

The national government is working on plans to move the capital, including the National Diet, outside the Tokyo area. These plans are aimed at avoiding the current concentration of administrative and other functions in Tokyo, at strengthening the capacity to respond to disasters, and at reforming the national administrative structure as a whole.

The transfer of the National Diet and other capital city functions being considered by the national government will involve the key legal, administrative and judicial institutions of the state. In effect this will mean the transfer of the capital itself. Such a transfer is an enormous problem that may well constitute a serious danger not just for Tokyo but for the nation itself, and the TMG is firmly opposed to any such idea.

Reasons for Opposition

TMG is opposed to transferring the capital for the following reasons:

	Socioeconomic conditions are changing greatly, with land prices continuing to fall substantially ever since the bursting of the economic bubble in the early 1990s and with the Japanese economy still unable to extract itself from interminable recession. Such changes mean that there is no longer any point in transferring the capital.
	Japan's international status is declining rapidly as international competition intensifies. Under such conditions, the main priority should not be to transfer the capital elsewhere, thereby depriving the metropolitan area of much of its strength, but to revitalize and stimulate the area.
	The finances of the national government and local governments are in dire straits, with massive long-term debts of 700 trillion yen. Building anew capital would constitute an enormous waste of money and would further sap the strength of the nation.
	The key political and economic institutions are currently located within a radius of 1.5 kilometers around the Kasumigaseki, Marunouchi and Otemachi districts of Tokyo, thus permitting efficient political and economic management. The political and economic spheres are inseparable, and a city in which the political sphere alone is set apart is unlikely to function adequately.
	Global environmental problems are growing increasingly serious, and a new large-scale development project extending over 8,500 hectares and involving extensive destruction of forest and countryside runs counter to the trend of the times.

History of the plan

Main response to date:

	Production of video opposing transfer of the capital entitled "A Clear No! to Transfer of the Capital" (April 2002).
	Governor Ishihara gives his opinion as a witness before the House of Representatives Special Committee on Transfer of the National Diet (May 2002).
	The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government hold a rally to express their resolute opposition to transfer of the capital (May 2002).
	Publishing of pamphlet "Ending Plans to Transfer the Capital: Negative Legacy of the Bubble Era" (March 2003).
	Eight prefectures and cities (Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City, Kawasaki City, Chiba City and Saitama City) lodge a strongly-worded joint appeal in opposition to plans to relocate the capital (November 2003)

Future Action Plans

The forum of debate for the issue of relocation of the capital has shifted from the Special Committees on Transfer of the National Diet in both houses of the Diet to the Joint Inter-Party Deliberation Council of Both Houses on Transfer of the National Diet. However, in view of the fact that numerous issues, including the pros and cons of such a massive relocation itself, have yet to be resolved, TMG will continue to carefully monitor and collect information on related movements in the National Diet and other developments. This will incorporate the results of research studies underscoring the suitability of Tokyo as the traditional and continued site for the nation's capital, in working toward the ultimate goal of the total retraction of the relocation plan.