As the population in rural areas rapidly decreases, how to provide adequate public services, including social welfare and medical services, is becoming an important issue. The Local Government System Council, an advisory body for the prime minister, on June 25 made a proposal addressing the issue. The core idea is promoting cooperation among adjacent municipalities and prefectural governments taking over some of the duties of municipalities and providing public services on their behalf when necessary.

This approach seems unavoidable in view of Japan's current situation. But if the central government imposes the idea on local governments, it will not work.

In translating the council's idea into concrete terms, the central government must take utmost care so that local governments will actively promote cooperation among themselves. It should design a system that will ensure smooth cooperation among local governments as well as offer adequate financial support, including support for branch municipal offices born of mergers of municipalities that the central government pushed from 1999 to 2005 in an effort to enhance the efficiency of local government.