Public support for the "doshu-sei" system will depend on whether people can realize the benefits of ongoing efforts at decentralizing the nation's administrative powers, but the efforts have so far been hampered by the strong resistance of the central bureaucracy, panelists told the Sept. 18 symposium.
A recent nationwide opinion poll showed that only 29 percent of the respondents favor the doshu-sei system of redividing Japan into several regional blocs — less than half the 62 percent who said they oppose the idea.
Tomikazu Fukuda, governor of Tochigi Prefecture, noted that the rate of support for the idea had been nearly 50 percent just a few years ago. Why has it declined so sharply over a short period?