Recall of Akune mayor
(From The Japan Times December 10 issue)

阿久根市長失職

Mayor Shinichi Takehara of Akune, Kagoshima Prefecture, was recalled in a Dec. 5 referendum. He has been criticized for taking advantage on many occasions of a provision in the Local Autonomy Law that allows a local government head to take action on important matters without calling an assembly session if there is not enough time to let the assembly approve a proposal. He unilaterally halved the bonus of city office workers, introduced a per diem system for assembly members and made a former police officer of Ehime Prefecture vice mayor.

The internal affairs ministry plans to submit to the Diet a bill to revise the law, making stricter conditions for a local government head to take unilateral actions and to allow the assembly chairman to convene a session if the local government head ignores the assembly request for convening a session. Because action like the Akune mayor's had been unexpected when the law was written, the revision appears unavoidable.

Mr. Takehara plans to run again in a mayoral election in January. In the Dec. 5 referendum, the margin between anti- and pro-mayor voters was only about 400 votes. Many voters apparently accepted the mayor's explanation that he tried to reduce the economic gap between ordinary citizens and public sector people. He may make a comeback. The city assembly members and city office workers may have to examine whether they had acted in the interest of residents. In voting, Akune citizens have to consider what is best for the city.

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura said Nov. 26 that he will resign and run again in the next mayoral election in February, after his supporters' attempt to hold a referendum on whether the city assembly should be dissolved failed. The assembly has been opposed to Mr. Kawamura's call for making permanent a 10 percent cut in the residential tax. The tax gives no benefit to low-income people, who are exempt from the levy, and may cause administrative services to worsen. When casting their ballot, Nagoya citizens must carefully consider whether Mr. Kawamura's proposal will benefit their lives.

鹿児島県阿久根市の竹原市長の解職請求の是非を問う住民投票が行なわれ、賛成多数で竹原氏は失職した。緊急を要し議会を招集する時間的余裕がない場合に地方自治体の長が重要事項を決定できる地方自治法を悪用したと非難されてきた。氏は市職員の賞与半減や、議員報酬の日給制、元愛媛県警巡査部長の副市長選任などの専決処分を行なってきた。

総務省は、首長の専決処分制限、首長が議会を招集しない場合の議長による代行を含む法改正を検討している。竹原氏は出直し選挙への出馬を表明している。

市議会解散を問う住民投票が頓挫した名古屋の河村市長は、辞任して再出馬すると述べた。市長の住民税恒久10％減宣言に議会は反対してきた。市民は市長の提案が生活に及ぼす影響を熟考して投票すべきだ。