Of the nine governors who are members of the Kyushu prefectural governors’ association (the seven Kyushu prefectures plus Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures), eight are either cool toward or opposed to Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks for a liberalized trade agreement. The only exception was the governor of Oita Prefecture. They were unanimous, however, in their belief that the government has failed to provide sufficient information for an informed debate among the citizens.
The Cabinet has approved Kumamoto’s designation as a government-ordinance city, which will give it authority similar to that of a prefecture. The designation will take effect on April 1, 2012. It will be the 20th city in Japan with such a designation, and the third in Kyushu.
With criticism mounting of the practice of amakudari (finding comfortable post-retirement executive positions for government officials in other public sector organizations), the trend is growing nationwide for prefectural governments to disclose employment information about retired officials. The Nishinippon Shimbun reports, however, that Saga, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima prefectures in Kyushu are exceptions to this trend. They do not disclose that information about people who served as Vice-Governor or other high positions, though in many cases they are employed as executives in prefecture government-related organizations.
Nine candidates for Fukuoka City Council in last month’s election submitted excessive estimates for their publicly financed election posters, and signed contracts for that amount with printers. The entries on the reports they submitted for their expenditures after the election showed lower actual expenditures, however. The largest single reduction in post-election reports by one candidate was 690,160 yen. Six of the candidates were elected.
Of the 23 elections for municipal chief executives on the 24th, eight had candidates that were automatically elected because they ran unopposed. They included three each in Fukuoka and Nagasaki prefectures and one each in Saga and Miyazaki prefectures. That accounted for 34.8% of all the municipal elections, a 3.9 percentage-point drop from the previous elections.
The Nishinippon Shimbun conducted a questionnaire survey of those intending to run as candidates for the prefecture assembly in the seven Kyushu prefectures. When asked if the current state of those assemblies and its activities had been conveyed to the people, 59% answered in the negative. Roughly 60% also answered that the current levels of salaries, allowances for research, and number of delegates in the chamber were about right.
Former Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru announced his candidacy for the Tokyo Metro District’s gubernatorial election at a news conference. He said the time had come in which the vitality of the big cities would determine the fate of the nation. He also presented his election manifesto with 10 categories, including crisis management and employment measures. Higashikokubaru said he was encouraged to run by his former boss in show business, the well-known Beat Takeshi.
Lower house MP and Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Kazuhiro Haraguchi of Saga Prefecture has called for the creation of the Saga Ishin no Kai, a multi-party political organization consisting of local government chief executives and legislators modeled after the Osaka group led by Osaka Metro District Gov. Toru Hashimoto. Said Haraguchi, “The central government’s doctrine of fiscal supremacy must not be permitted to place the onus of deficits on the regions.” Haraguchi is also working to form the Nihon Ishin no Kai, a body to promote regional devolution, and hopes to form ties with Gov. Hashimoto.
Former Vice-Governor and political independent Shuji Kono was elected governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in the election of the 26th. He replaces Hideo Higashikokubaru, a former show business personality who is stepping down after one term, and who is speculated to be mulling a run for governor of the Tokyo Metro District. Kono defeated three other candidates by garnering nearly 80% of the vote as he pledged to continue to policies established by his predecessor.
Former KBC announcer Soichiro Takashima prevailed in a field of eight candidates to win election as the new mayor of Fukuoka City. Takashima was backed by both the Liberal-Democratic Party and New Komeito. He received 209,532 votes, 60,000 more than the runner-up, incumbent Mayor Hiroshi Yoshida. Takashima is the youngest mayor of Fukuoka City in the postwar period, and the youngest mayor in Kyushu.
With the national government mulling the elimination of local offices for government ministries and agencies and transferring their responsibilities to sub-national governments, the Kyushu Governors’ Council agreed to establish an administrative mechanism for the seven prefectures in the region. They will petition the national government to create the legal framework required to implement their plan. If the national government takes that step, the offices, authority, funding sources, and employees for 15 agencies in eight ministries will be transferred nearly intact. Duties related to national taxation and defense will not be affected.
Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru has told several people, including film director/comedian Beat Takeshi, that he does not intend to run for re-election as governor after his first term expires on January 20 next year, reports say. Observers speculate that he might run in the election for the governor of the Tokyo Metropolitan District or the next lower house election. The governor, however, has told the press that he hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he will seek a second term.
Statistics for the use of early voting in July 11th’s upper house election were released showing greater growth nationwide of early voting, particularly in Kyushu. Oita Prefecture posted the largest rate of growth of all prefectures in the country, with 26.4% compared to the national rate of 11.9%. In addition, Saga Prefecture was in third place, followed by Kumamoto Prefecture in 4th, Fukuoka Prefecture in 5th, and Nagasaki Prefecture in 8th. Thus, Kyushu prefectures accounted for half of the top ten.
An investigation has revealed that 34 delegates to the Fukuoka Prefecture Council used their policy research fund expense account to buy computers for their personal use in 2009. Of these, 21 covered the full cost of the computer with those funds, and three people bought more than one computer. The most expensive was a 234,540 yen machine bought by a Kurume delegate. There were 87 delegates at the time.
A former member of the Saga Commerce and Industry Mutual Aid Society brought a suit for damages against the society after it went bankrupt due to fraudulent accounting practices. In the initial trial, the prefecture was ordered to pay the defendant 490 million yen. The prefecture then filed suit against then Governor Isamu Imoto, who knew of the accounting problems but did not order their correction. Saga District Court Judge Sumio Nojiri has ordered that Imoto pay the full amount.
Former Saga City Mayor Toshiyuki Kinoshita announced he will run as an independent candidate in the next election for Fukuoka City mayor. He will likely oppose incumbent Hiroshi Yoshida and a Communist Party candidate. Kinoshita is a veteran of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and a well-known government reformer who advised the national government in its televised policy reviews last year. He promoted the privatization of the municipal gas company during his term in Saga, which was a matter of controversy. He lost his reelection bid during an election held with the first participation of four outlying districts that had been incorporated into the city.
Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito has issued an admonition to Akune Mayor Shinichi Takemura recommending that a city council session be convened in the ongoing dispute in that city over public finances and salaries. Mayor Takemura ordered that the salary system for the 16 city council members be switched from the current monthly system to a per diem rate of 10,000 yen, effectively reducing their salary from roughly 4 million yen per year to 400,000 yen. He also ordered their annual bonuses to be halved and a reduction in the fixed asset tax, all without council approval. Twelve of the 16 council members are opposed to the mayor’s moves, and requested that he convene a session of the city council to discuss them, but he ignored it. Gov. Ito issued the admonition to convene the city council under the Local Government Act. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications says this is the first time the act has been used in this way in Kyushu.
Excluding the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture, the average income for the other six Kyushu governors in 2009 was 20.99 million yen. The highest income was earned by Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru at 45.41 million yen. He was followed by Wataru Aso of Fukuoka Prefecture at 22.46 million yen. The income of five of the governors fell from the previous year, including that of Saga Prefecture Gov. Yasushi Furukawa, who took a 15% monthly pay cut as part of a program to restructure the prefecture’s finances.
Kumamoto Prefecture last year began requiring prefectural council delegates to provide receipts for all expenditures of the policy research funds it provides. The prefectural government disclosed in its income and expenditure report for the year that the return of the unused portion of the funds last year was 86 times the amount of the previous year. Fukuoka Prefecture is mulling a similar measure.
Mayor Shinichi Takemura of Akune, Kagoshima Prefecture, ordered that the salary system for the 16 city council members be switched from the current monthly system to a per diem rate of 10,000 yen. This is expected to reduce the average council member’s annual salary from four million yen to 400,000 yen. Twelve of the council members are opposed, and say they will start a recall petition to block the move.
For the first time, Fukuoka City officials inquired of the Foreign Ministry whether American naval vessels entering the Port of Hakata had nuclear weapons on board on the 16th. Previously, the city operated on the assumption that naval vessels weren’t carrying such weapons. Now that the Japanese Foreign Ministry has confirmed the existence of a secret agreement in which the Japanese government tacitly accepted the possibility that American ships would be carrying nuclear weapons, the city has changed its policy. The first inquiry concerned the U.S.S. Rushmore, and Fukuoka City was told by the Foreign Ministry that the ship did not have the capability to carry nuclear weapons.
Fukuoka Prefecture Vice-Governor Nakashima Takayuki has resigned his position over allegations that he was entertained by members of the prefectural town and village association, with the expenses paid from a slush fund. It is alleged that he was treated to dinner, drinks, golf, and mah jongg at an exclusive club in Nakasu. Some members of the association have been arrested in connection with the case. Nakashima’s letter of resignation said only that he was resigning for personal reasons.
The municipal council of Itsuki-mura in Kumamoto Prefecture discussed a proposal last week to convert the calculation of their remuneration to 60% basic salary and 40% for ability. The council would introduce this method starting next April, and they are considering different ways to evaluate ability under the method. The Tokyo-based National Association of Chairmen of Town and Village Assemblies says Itsuki-mura would be the first municipality in the nation to implement such a system.
A survey by the Nishinippon Shimbun has revealed that of the seven Kyushu prefectures and two cities with specially designated authority only Fukuoka and Nagasaki prefectures have refused to disclose on the Internet information about people in amakudari positions. Amakudari is the practice of providing cushy post-retirement jobs in government to retired senior civil servants, and has been subject to widespread public criticism. The Fukuoka City ombudsman Kenji Kojima (SPELLING UNCONFIRMED) commented, “Information disclosure is the first step in preventing the close alliance between government and the organizations that accepted these people as employees.
Nagasaki Prefecture Governor Genjiro Kaneko announced he would not seek a fourth term in the gubernatorial election to be held next February. Sources close to the governor said he thought politics in the prefecture would become more confrontational with the Democratic Party of Japan now in control of the national government. Gov. Kaneko has been supported by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. He thinks the potential conflict would be detrimental for the prefecture’s citizens.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport released information on the projects it plans to cut or reduce from the supplemental budget for 2009. Several of these will have an impact on Kyushu. The plan to widen to four lanes the Nagasaki Expressway from Nagasaki to Tarami has been frozen. The funds for surveying obstacles at the Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima airports will not be spent. The money allocated for preparing land next to the Kitakyushu Airport with the intent of extending the runway has been cut from 10 billion yen to 4.9 billion yen. Funds have been frozen for the earthquake proofing of buildings at the Civil Aviation College in Miyazaki City. Meanwhile, no funds were frozen for the Kyushu Shinkansen project.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry announced it has approved the plans of 19 old-style shopping arcades nationwide to stimulate their business under legislation passed in August. Four of the arcades are in Kyushu: one in Fukuoka Prefecture (Iizuka), two in Kumamoto Prefecture (Kumamoto City and Hitoyoshi), and one in Oita Prefecture (Usa). The support will be provided for three to five years and will be spent on such projects as special events, measures to deal with vacant space, shops with trial goods for the elderly, and repairs.
The results of the landslide victory by the Democratic Party of Japan in the recent lower house elections means that the party has for the first time won the most number of seats in the 38 direct-election districts in Kyushu and Okinawa Prefecture. It won 20 of the 28 seats it directly contested with the former ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the LDP lost all the seats in Nagasaki, Oita, and Okinawa Prefectures for the first time.
The Nishinippon Shimbun conducted a telephone survey of residents in Miyazaki Prefecture and found that the combination of people who supported or somewhat supported Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru has fallen from 95.4% in July 2007 to 82.9% last month. Those who disapprove have risen from 3.1% to 10.2%. The decline in popularity stems from his interest in running for the Diet, and then, when deciding to finish his term as governor, saying, “It would be easier just to hang out in Miyazaki (for the rest of my term).”
Fukuoka City Mayor Hiroshi Yoshida and Kitakyushu Mayor Kenji Kitahashi met at a Fukuoka City hotel to strengthen the relationship between the two cities based on four policies, including promoting greater exchange with Asia and dealing with environmental problems. It was the first meeting between the two mayors in two years. They also agreed that Kitakyushu would become involved in the tourism promotion campaign that Fukuoka City plans to conduct in Seoul, South Korea, in the fall.
After a meeting with Makoto Koga of Japan’s ruling Liberal-Democratic Party, Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru said he would run on the condition that he be considered a candidate for party president. When some suggested he was joking, the governor insisted at a press conference he was serious, and said he was interested in running for the sake of Miyazaki Prefecture. He said there was a limit to how much he could change local conditions while working outside of national government. This is the clearest indication to date that the popular governor plans to run for the lower house of the Diet in the upcoming election.
During the general shareholders’ meeting in Fukuoka City on June 26, it was revealed that the subsidiaries of Kyushu Electric Power ended their political contributions in FY 2008. The policy of the corporate group as a whole is to refrain from political donations, yet they are unable to confirm whether that has been fully implemented. Seven of the company’s consolidated subsidiaries donated a total of 4.40 million yen to the Liberal Democratic Party in FY 2007.
Mitani Micronics of Saga Prefecture, Fine Coating of Nagasaki Prefecture, and the Industrial Technology Center of Nagasaki, a public sector research institute, have begun sales of a device they developed of a new screen mask for printing intricate electronic circuit designs on ceramics and other materials. The mask is the first in the world to use diamond-like carbon, a very hard film. The product can be used to make the parts for manufacturing equipment that will result in smaller and lighter cell phones and digital cameras.
Starting in FY 2008, members of the Beppu City Council were required to append receipts for any expenditure over one yen for so-called policy research expenditures. The money is provided according to law to members of local government legislatures to conduct research into policy matters. The system has been criticized as being a de facto second source of income for the politicians, however, as in some locations the legislators have used the money for CD purchases and car loans. Until 2007, receipts for expenditures weren’t required, and the city received a repayment of 1.45 million yen for the unused portion. Once receipts were required, this total skyrocketed more than four times to about 6 million yen.
After the elections for city council president and vice-president in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, ended in ties of 16 votes each, the council held an emergency session and filled the offices by lot. The elections had pitted conservative members against those with a background in labor unions. City council sources think that’s the first time both offices were filled by a drawing.
Genkai-cho in Saga Prefecture has come to terms with Gijang-gun in Busan, South Korea to form a friendship agreement as early as July as two local governments with atomic power plants in their jurisdiction. They plan to share information on the administration of nuclear power plants and ways to obtain citizen understanding of nuclear power. They also plan to strengthen economic and cultural ties.
Popular Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru, a former comedian, continued to fuel speculation that he may be considering a bid for a Diet seat in the lower house election that must be held this year by holding a fund-raising party in Tokyo. It was his 17th fund-raising party in his term, which has lasted slightly more than two years, but the first in the capital. It is unusual for prefectural governors to hold events of this type in Tokyo.
Saga Prefecture Gov. Yasushi Furukawa announced he will cut his own salary to take responsibility for the prefectural employees who took Saga brand beef to the United Arab Emirates without passing through a quarantine inspection. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries is considering the prosecution of the prefectural employees involved, and the producers of Saga beef are worried that the incident will harm their brand image. The governor believes he must take responsibility because he promoted the plan for beef exports.
In a runoff election held on March 22, the voters of Kamimine-cho, Saga Prefecture, chose Yuhei Takehiro as their new chief municipal officer. Takehiro, a former aide in the upper house of Japan’s Diet, is 29, which makes him the youngest municipal chief executive in Japan. He ran on a platform of cutting the salary at his new job by 50%, and promoting municipal consolidation.
Fukuoka Airport will soon reach the limit of its capacity, and there has been a debate about whether to add an additional runway or to build a new airport. The Nishinippon Shimbun reports that Fukuoka Prefecture Gov. Wataru Aso has decided to support the plan calling for expansion of the existing airport, but also recognizes that a new airport may have to be built in the future. He submitted his recommendation to the national government to that effect on the 26th.
