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Politicians, straighten up!No.1(Continued) [2011/06/17]
Politicians, straighten up!No.1
(Is this really what you think is right)
--Comments and Reactions--


Mayor Masahiro Yamagishi, Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture
Three months have passed since the historically unprecedented, massive disaster hit our country. The Japanese government has not even today been able to finalize a plan of reconstruction, nor is there any effective measure in prospect. The cause of this political poverty is the deterioration of the parliamentarians, as Mr. Sasakawa has so rightly pointed out. The one that stands at the pinnacle is the prime minister so the deterioration of Japanese politics is a natural consequence.

All the while we, the heads of local municipalities, have always stood at the front line in the field and have been struggling day in and day out to regain our cities and our people. We have built rapport with our people, listened to their voices and read their sentiments even from their breathing and every day is a serious fight together with the people.

Having said this, I would like to express my opinion as to the current political chaos. The level of all politicians whether local or parliamentary equally have degraded today. The diet members who have been elected from single seat constituencies are no different in level from the members of prefectural assemblies. To take it to the extremes, they would do everything to win the interest of the voters selling their personality and performance just to be elected. Once elected they would naturally pursue the road to the top. Yet even if they secure the position of premiership after working for party and faction interests and climb the ladder of success, the moral obligation and the sense of mission that they proclaim to possess is no more than just a mere” accessory”. Much more, there is not a single politician, as Mr. Sasakawa said, that have noble ideals to devote themselves to serve the people, among the prime ministers that have been changing annually in the past few years.

In order to break down this state of affairs since it is almost impossible to wish for a top leader who would assume the reins of the government with a determination to risk one’s own life, I suggest that only presidential system would bring a genuine devoted leader to our country.

The heads of local municipalities in Japan govern under a presidential style system. They are not the top people of the members of local assemblies but rule totally as an independent individual without any connection to the assemblymen. Anyone wishing to head a local municipal government must first resign as a member of the local assembly. The heads of local governments are not people who have been “climbing the ladder to success” to reach their position as a leader. That is all the more reason each candidate must be equipped with the determination and a sense of mission, which traits the prime minister lacks to possess.
Should there arise confrontation with the local assemblies, direct popular votes, held separately from the assembly, will make the judgment at the election that takes place every 4 years and should a judgment be made to recall the mayor then there is no choice but to lose the position held hitherto. It is not like the prime minister who can remain a parliamentarian even after leaving office or to blame the party for his/her resignation. Once losing an election the political status would also be lost. This is the political structure that drives the heads of local governments to work in all earnest.

It has been 11 years since I have held office as mayor of a small city of Katsuyama, Fukui Prefecture, with a population of 26,000 people. It is small in size but I have intentionally refrained from municipal merger in order to keep its resilience and to build a city with radiance. Instead I have implemented a basic policy of building this city as an “ecomuseum”.
I have also tackled with stabilization of fiscal policy and have been able to achieve administrative and financial results of \1.1 billion (2004-2006), \1.7billion (2007-2009). The total amount of \2.8 billion is equivalent to 25% of the \11 billion general account of Katsuyama city.
In 2007 Katsuyama city ranked 9th in the Forbes.com as the most clean city in the world. No. 1 in Asia and of course, top in Japan.

Right after the disaster on March 11 we organized the Fukui Corps of emergency fire-fighters and sent fire engines and firemen, under the command of the Fire Defense Agency, to the city of Rikuzen Takada. Three days later on the 14th we were the first of the prefectural municipalities to send two 2-ton trucks fully loaded with relief goods of water, food and blankets to Rikuzen Takata City. We continued our support answering to the request from Mayor Toba of Rikuzen Takata and supported the establishment of welfare evacuation shelter. From April 4th to May 1st. we dispatched a total of 64 staff, mainly the staff from the municipal government and an NPO, to the evacuation shelter to help in its management and provide care services on weekly rotation for the whole month. This was a “remote area” support as we had to travel 880 kilometer and approximately 12 hours of travel each way. Currently we are accepting a total of 71 people from 23 families from the city of Minami-Soma in our public municipal houses with financial support such as aid money, free rent and public utilities charges. We have also raised funds so that relief donation will not have to depend solely on national public donations to be able to continue the support that we have been delivering. We agree totally to Mr. Sasakawa’s principle of aid money and have also donated \100,000 to the Nippon Foundation.

I have hitherto been rather presumptuous to have written about our activities but I wanted to say that the municipal governments, especially the city administrative organs are operating very strongly. The reason is because the basis of the work of self-governments is in the field to support the lives of the people and that of a mayor is to carry out policies that are beneficial to the people. This will not be influenced by whatever changes that may take place in national politics. That is clear when we see how the mayors of the disaster-stricken areas have fought like fury regardless of what goes on in Tokyo.

This is obviously not visible with the parliamentarians who, to borrow the words of Mr. Sasakawa, ”appear to care more about enjoying power that comes with their office, and their priority appears now to save their own skin and their comfortable future.” Not only is it true but even the prime minister who sits at the pinnacle has not shown even the minutest sense of mission and determination.
At a meeting of Japan Association of City Mayors, 2 weeks ago, one mayor said that the current parliamentarians of the Democratic Party of Japan( DPJ) were like children in the eyes of us mayors. I echoed his words. Japan would never be able to have a prime minister who is a man with mettle and devotion if these are the parliamentarians that are elected. The reason for having a new prime minister on a yearly basis today is because under the current system the prime minister is designated from within a limited option and with too many unknowns as to the competence of governance in the leader that is chosen. We must put an end to this political destitution. Therefore it is necessary to revise the existing political system of a prime minister being selected from among the parliamentarian by the parliamentarians to a system of designating the leader of the country by popular vote. In order to restore this chaotic state of our country it is the obligation of the citizens to find a charismatic person and entrust that individual to administer the country for 4 years. The results are then to be evaluated by the citizens after 4 years.
In order to achieve this I would like Mr. Sasakawa to take the leadership and create a way to introducing a presidential system in order to make a breakthrough to solve the current national crisis.
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