Just three months after the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, drew national attention by announcing it might abolish its elected council due to a lack of qualified candidates and introduce direct democracy, the head of the sparsely populated municipality said Monday that talks on the issue would be suspended.
"With the cooperation of the Kochi Prefectural Government, discussions are under way about maintaining the Okawa village council and local revitalization," the village head, Kazuhito Wada, told the council members. "(With that,) a strong boost has been given to maintaining the council system."
Okawa's decision to look at the prospect of direct democracy prompted the central government to establish, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, a committee to look at the idea of direct democracy in small towns and villages. The committee's first — and so far only — meeting took place at the end of July and focused on Okawa's efforts as well as the various laws, rules and regulations on running for a local council.