CRA Grills Japan Ruling Bloc over Secondary Capital Bill

Tokyo, July 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s opposition Centrist Reform Alliance on Monday grilled the ruling bloc over a bill to establish a secondary capital of the country, arguing that the plan is based on a foregone conclusion that the western prefecture of Osaka would serve such a function. At the day’s meeting of a special committee on regional revitalization at the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, the CRA said that the secondary capital initiative comes along with the so-called Osaka metropolis plan being pushed by the Japan Innovation Party, which has its base in Osaka. On the bill’s criteria for the designation of a secondary capital, such as a population size, CRA deputy leader Yuki Waseda said, “Osaka would effectively be the only place (that meets the conditions).” She criticized the initiative, saying it may “mislead residents into thinking that the establishment of a secondary capital and the realization of the Osaka metropolis plan go hand in hand.” Ryohei Iwatani of the JIP, the coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, rebutted by claiming the fairness of the secondary capital plan. “This is a scheme in which the prime minister designates a prefecture that meets the objective criteria set by the government (as a secondary capital),” he said. The bill, submitted to the parliament by the ruling pair late last month, sets the establishment of special wards as a condition for a secondary capital. Koichi Mukoyama of the opposition Democratic Party for the People slammed this and said that the bill is “a tool to realize the (Osaka) metropolis plan.” The special committee is slated to continue deliberations on the legislation Tuesday. The LDP and the JIP aim to pass the bill through the Lower House on Tuesday and send it to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, to ensure that the legislation is enacted during the current parliamentary session, which is set to end Friday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]