A Study on Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly - Focused on Performance Evaluation and Institutional Reform

Abstract

Just like korea, japanese local assembly is adopting presidential system and Japan also have two-tier local system consisting of prefectural and municipal governments. This study reviews institution and performance of metropolitan assembly in japan especially focusing on tokyo metropolitan assembly. Due to the special nature of the tokyo metropolis compared to other prefectures, the tokyo Metropolitan Assembly(TMA) has the largest local councillor's member and staff. Moreover, TMA keeps top-level local councillors pay. Therefore, it's expected that TMA mark high performance on local assembly's function such as representment of citizen's views, enactment of the ordinances, supervision and investigation of administrative activities. If there are low performance, we can infer the structural limitation in connection with power and function of local assembly.<BR> The results of TMA's activities analysis reveal that almost of ordinances is enacted by local government, checking function on local government is relatively weak. In accordance with the decentralization reform in intergovernmental relations, local assembly's several behavioral problems and institutional limitation should be reviewed. The suggested institutional reform principle to enhance performance of local assembly in japan is as following: First, balancing the power between mayor and assembly should be stressed. Second, chairperson of local assembly should have full discretion in operating assembly. These institutional improvement efforts give some implications for the reform of korea's local assembly which is confronted with similar problems.