One reason for the Democratic Party of Japan's victory in the 2009 Lower House election was its call for stronger devolution. Apparently taking a cue from the DPJ's gains three years ago, many political parties now call for establishing a doshu system, which would divide Japan into several administrative regions under regional governments. This idea would mean a revamp of Japan's governing system.
But it would take a lot of time, energy and money to bring about such a change, and there is no guarantee the new system would make people's lives any better. It is possible that launching such an overhaul of the nation's governing system at a time when central and local government indebtedness totals nearly ¥1,000 trillion could wreak havoc on the nation's already weak finances.
The DPJ government has made some progress in devolution. It has set up a consultation forum for central and local government leaders. Decisions made in the forum have binding power. While the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito were in power, they reduced grants from the central government to local governments.