「大阪都」構想 自治再生への将来像を示せ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 19, 2012)
Present a vision for renewal of local administration
「大阪都」構想　自治再生への将来像を示せ（1月18日付・読売社説）

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto is preparing concrete steps to realize his plan to transform Osaka into a metropolitan administrative unit like Tokyo. If his proposal is realized, how will the people's daily lives and the local administration of Osaka change?
　「大阪都」構想の実現で住民生活や行政はどう変わるのだろうか。

His proposal calls for institutional reform to reorganize the Osaka prefectural government and the Osaka and Sakai municipal governments into a metropolitan administrative unit that would provide administrative services across the entire area and 10 to 12 "special administrative wards" that would provide services close to the daily lives of the local people, such as welfare services.
　橋下徹大阪市長が、都構想の具体案作りを進めている。
　都構想は、府と大阪、堺両市を解体し、広域行政を担う「都」と福祉など身近な行政サービスを受け持つ１０～１２の「特別自治区」に再編する制度改革だ。

We can understand Hashimoto's intention of eliminating the prefectural and municipal governments' overlapping administrative services and integrating strategies on urban systems, by reviewing the antagonistic relations that have often existed between the prefectural government and the Osaka municipal government over the years.
　長年対立してきた府と大阪市の関係を見直し、二重行政の無駄を廃して都市戦略を一元化しようという狙いはわかる。

Hashimoto has established a headquarters to integrate the prefectural and municipal governments, as a control tower of the scheme, and has come up with one reform policy after another.
　橋下氏は司令塔となる府市統合本部を設け、矢継ぎ早に改革方針を打ち出した。

Carrying out, first of all, those reforms that can be realized under the present system will offer a favorable wind for the envisaged scheme. Included in such presently doable reforms are integrated management of water services, public hospitals and universities, and elections for more administratively powerful ward mayors with candidates invited from the public from all over the country.
水道、病院、大学の一体運営や、区長の公募・権限強化など、現行制度で可能な改革を先行させることは、構想実現への追い風となるからだ。

Will these institutional changes lead to, as Hashimoto asserts, the rejuvenation of Osaka, whose local economy is seen faltering?
　だが、制度の変更が、橋下氏の言うように、沈滞ムード漂う大阪の再生に結びつくのか。

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Costs not entirely clear

Having ward mayors and ward assembly members elected by popular vote may end up raising overall costs. There is also some concern that the review of overlapping administrative services by the prefectural and municipal governments may lead to some services being monopolized by certain entities, eliminating competition and thus making overall public administration inefficient.
　公選区長と区議会を置くため、コストが増える恐れがある。二重行政を見直すことが行政サービスの独占となり、行政同士の競争が失われて、かえって効率が悪化しかねないとの見方もある。

Hashimoto should scrupulously answer these questions and draw up a clear future vision of a new local administration.
　橋下氏は、こうした疑問の声にも丁寧に答えを出し、新しい自治の将来像を描くべきである。

To realize this metropolis scheme, it is essential to revise related laws, including the Local Government Law. 　都構想の実現のためには、地方自治法など関連法の改正も欠かせない。

Both the ruling and opposition parties have begun concerted action based on Hashimoto's scheme.
与野党は、構想に呼応する動きを見せ始めている。

As the head of local party Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka restoration group), Hashimoto won a strategic victory in the double elections for both Osaka governor (his preelection post, now held by another member of his party) and Osaka mayor.
　先の大阪ダブル選で勝利を収めた橋下氏は、

Looking toward the next House of Representatives election, Hashimoto said his party will field its own candidates to run against those political parties that do not support his vision.
都構想に賛同しない政党には、次期衆院選で独自候補を擁立して対抗すると宣言しているが、

These strategies can be said to have prodded major national parties into action on his issue.
こうした「戦法」が中央政党を動かしたと言えよう。

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Govt council to examine issue

Meanwhile, the Local Government System Research Council, a governmental advisory panel, on Tuesday began discussions on what form the administrative systems of mega cities should take.
　一方、政府の地方制度調査会は１７日、大都市制度のあり方に関する議論を始めた。

The central government had seldom squarely tackled the issue of large cities before.
政府が大都市問題に正面から取り組んだことは、これまでほとんどなかった。

The Osaka metropolis scheme will be a central theme of the council's discussions.
　大阪都構想は、中心的なテーマとなる。

Hashimoto intends to compile a concrete plan by this autumn, with an eye toward shifting to an Osaka metropolis in the spring of 2015.
橋下氏は、２０１５年春の大阪都移行を目指して、今秋までに具体案をまとめる考えだが、

His moves and the council's discussions will certainly affect each other.
その動向と調査会の議論は、相互に影響していくだろう。

Also to be discussed is the idea of letting ordinance-designated cities become completely independent from prefectural governments as special self-governing units.
　政令市が道府県から独立する「特別自治市」や、

There are also other ideas to be taken up for discussion, such as one to integrate Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya to establish a "Chukyo-to" administrative unit, and one to realign Niigata Prefecture and Niigata City into Niigata-shu (Niigata State).
愛知県と名古屋市が掲げる「中京都」、新潟県と新潟市を再編する「新潟州」なども検討対象だ。

The times require discussions about systems of large-city governance.
大都市制度の議論は、時代の要請でもある。

The council will also discuss issues related to local municipalities, be they cities, towns or villages, that are dealing with marked population decline and a rapidly aging citizenry.
　調査会では、人口減少が著しく、高齢化の進んでいる市町村の問題も審議する。

It is no easy task to consider the problems of large cities and those of smaller municipalities in the context of the ongoing trend of transferring administrative powers to local governments.
地方分権の流れの中で、大都市と小規模な自治体の問題をどう位置づけるかは、容易ではない。

Toward the aim of rejuvenating local administrations, a broad-based discussion is called for.
自治の再生に向けて、幅広い議論を重ねてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 18, 2012)
（2012年1月18日01時18分 読売新聞）