Osaka, Hokkaido Sign Secondary Capital Cooperation Pact

Sapporo, Aug. 31 (Jiji Press)–Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura and Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki on Monday agreed to work together to get both prefectures designated as Japan’s secondary capitals. The two governors signed a cooperation agreement to seek secondary capital designations at a meeting in Sapporo, the capital of Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. “We should aim to build a country with a multipolar growth model while utilizing each prefecture’s unique characteristics,” Yoshimura said after the meeting. Suzuki highlighted the effectiveness of cooperation among prefectures seeking secondary capital status in demonstrating the potential of regional backup functions and multipolar growth. The meeting was proposed by Yoshimura. The agreement marks the first partnership between two prefectures that have proposed serving as secondary capitals capable of assuming key national functions in the event of large-scale disasters in Tokyo. Last week, Suzuki asked regional revitalization minister Hitoshi Kikawada in Tokyo to designate multiple regions as secondary capitals. The government is expected to adopt a cabinet ordinance in late October containing specific requirements for secondary capital designations, including the presence of central government regional offices and the concentrations of population and economic activity. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]