In a move to boost the cash-strapped Tokyo Metropolitan Government's revenues, the metropolitan assembly passed seven bills Wednesday to boost rates for public services. The bills go into effect in April.
Approved bills include rental fee increases at the Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall in Ueno, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space in Ikebukuro and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Koto Ward. Fees for using the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Sendagaya and public cemeteries will also be raised in April.
The metropolitan government submitted 16 such bills on the agenda in hopes of scraping up some 6 billion yen a year, but the assembly rejected nine of them, including increases in admission fees for Ueno Zoological Gardens and other public parks, and tuition at public high schools and Tokyo Metropolitan University, on the grounds that metro officials are too willing to put a burden on the public without making much effort to cut costs.
Responding to the criticism, the metropolitan government is mapping out administrative reform plans, including reducing the number of employees. The plans will be detailed later this month.