Japan Prefectural Heads Start Annual Meeting in Tottori

Tottori, July 16 (Jiji Press)–Prefectural governors from across Japan started a two-day annual meeting in the western city of Tottori on Thursday, planning to work out a set of proposals to the central government. The proposals will cover issues surrounding regional communities, economies and medical systems, heavily affected by rapid depopulation. Governors are also expected to discuss tax revenue gaps between Tokyo and other prefectures. At the start of the meeting, Nagano Governor Shuichi Abe, president of the National Governors’ Association, said that problems are piling up, such as inflation, an unstable world situation and climate change. “At this historic turning point, we will unite and drive Japan from the front line,” Abe also said. A draft of the proposals includes measures to deal with a decrease in births, create sustainable communities and better reflect the opinions of young people and women in specific policies. The draft also calls for accepting foreigners, promoting multicultural coexistence and improving the medical and elderly care systems further ahead of 2040, when the aging of the country’s population is forecast to reach its peak. At the meeting, governors will exchange opinions on how to correct tax revenue imbalances before the country adopts a tax system reform package at year-end and how to flesh out a draft outline of the planned Strategy for the Future of Regions, which was created by the central government. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]