Revenue of the City of Osaka: Its Structures and Problems

Abstract

Before entering the subject of local revenues of Japan, brief mention should be made of the classification and roles of local governments in Japan. The local governments in Japan are classified into two levels: the lower level comprises municipalities: cities, towns and villages; the high level consists of prefectural governments. Each of these local governments has a publicly elected head and a local council whose members are also publicly elected. It is an autonomous body which compiles its own budget and provides various services to the residents within its jurisdiction. The very basic governments, the municipalities, are in charge of administration most closely connected with civic life: family registration, resident registration, construction and management of elementary and junior high schools, hospitals and social welfare institutions, development of waterworks, sewer systems, road and parks, public housing, waste disposal, fire fighting, social welfare works including relief of the poor, bus transportation and so forth. In Japan, these municipalities number 3,255. On the other hand, prefectural governments, 47 in all, are larger than municipalities, comprising cities, towns and villages within their areas.