The Hatoyama administration has made one decision after another with direct effects on local governments. Among them is the move to scrap projects worth nearly ¥3 trillion included in the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, and the decision to halt the Yanba dam project in Gunma Prefecture. As part of the budget-pruning, the ¥310 billion fund for improving medical services in remote regions was also slashed by ¥80 billion.

Cabinet ministers appear to be making such decisions without sufficient prior consultation with local governments. The Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto said the new government would strive to change the relationship between the central and local governments to one of equality and cooperation. The Hatoyama administration should make good on its promise and quickly set up a venue where Cabinet ministers and local government heads can jointly discuss policy matters.

Consultation and cooperation between the central and local governments will be all the more important with regard to a package being pushed by the Hatoyama administration that includes relief for the unemployed and other hard-pressed people, plus measures to fight the spread of H1N1 influenza.

Introduction of monthly child-rearing allowances and the abolition of surcharges on road-related taxes — major items in the fiscal 2010 budget — also require close consultation and cooperation. As long as local governments harbor mistrust about the central government's decision-making process, the DPJ will be unable to smoothly implement its election promises.

The central government's devolution panel has proposed setting up a body in which the central and local governments consult on matters such as the division of labor between them, local taxes, infrastructure improvement, social welfare and education. The government also plans to draft a bill to create an official venue for consultation between the central and local governments.

There is no need for the central government to wait for the bill's enactment to improve its communication with local governments on policy matters. It also should listen to the opinions of local governments concerning the content of the planned bill.