Japan has about 3,200 cities, towns and villages. The government and the Liberal Democratic Party, among others, think that is too many. They believe that small districts should be consolidated to improve administrative efficiency so that they can better meet the diverse needs of residents.
Merger moves have escalated since Mr. Masaru Nishio, head of the government's Local Government System Research Council, published a drastic report last month calling for a shakeup of the municipal system. With its call for small districts that opt out to have their powers curtailed or be annexed into larger districts, the Nishio report is driving even reluctant districts to join the merger bandwagon.
Merger is also the overriding theme of an interim report from an LDP task force on local autonomy. The government is orchestrating a similar drive under special legislation that effectively sets a deadline for mergers -- March 2005. Thus the government and the LDP are working hand in hand, so to speak, to promote the consolidation of small districts.