The Upper House passes and enacts the bill related to the deputy capital initiative during a plenary session on July 24.
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Legislation establishing a framework for a "second capital," jointly submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party and Ishin no Kai, passed the Upper House on the night of July 24 and was enacted. The Diet closed the following day, July 25.
The law is a framework statute setting out the direction for creating a second capital. The government must now move to give it concrete form.
Backing Up the Capital
The law's purpose is to ensure that if a major disaster strikes Tokyo, a designated second capital can take over the capital's functions, maintaining national operations such as legislative and administrative work.
It also aims to correct Tokyo's excessive concentration of people and resources and to build a multipolar, decentralized economic structure. Under the law, prefectures that meet certain requirements may apply, and the prime minister will designate the second capital from among them.
Should Tokyo suffer damage, the impact on citizens' lives would be immeasurable. From a crisis-management standpoint, it is understandable that the government wants to build a backup system for capital functions. Those who submitted the bill have indicated that multiple second capitals could be designated.
The law lists measures such as developing government facility hubs, deregulation, and tax incentives to promote private investment, but the specifics have yet to be worked out.
Details Still Needed
The government is required to formulate a basic policy within one year of the law's enforcement. Rather than simply waiting for local governments to step forward, the government's overall vision remains to be clarified: which national functions will be located in which regions, and how roles will be divided between Tokyo and the second capital both in normal times and during emergencies.
A path for pursuing decentralization while preserving Tokyo's international competitiveness also remains to be shown.
A Curious Omission
One point that is hard to understand is that the disaster scenarios envisioned are a major earthquake directly beneath Tokyo and an eruption of Mt. Fuji—not a Nankai Trough megaquake, which would cause extensive damage centered on western Japan.
On the Nankai Trough earthquake specifically, the bill's sponsors told the Diet that this scenario is not expected to cause damage severe enough to disrupt central government functions in the Tokyo area. Whether that assessment holds up is another matter, and it warrants closer scrutiny rather than simply being taken at face value.
It is also a problem that the law gives no consideration to military contingencies.
A Question of Naming
The supplementary provisions also allow any prefecture that establishes special wards to rename itself "to" (都), the designation currently reserved for Tokyo as a metropolis. This raises a question of principle. Japan is a constitutional monarchy, and the "to" designation has traditionally applied to the administrative district where the Emperor resides. Extending that name to a prefecture other than Tokyo, home to the Imperial Palace, marks a break from that tradition.
Separately, opposition parties pushed for a ban on holding any referendum on establishing special wards on the same day as local elections—an odd restriction to place on election timing. A supplementary resolution was adopted on this point, but the bill's sponsors were right not to treat it as a binding "guarantee."
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Author: The Sankei Shimbun
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