A late July conference of prefectural governors issued a declaration saying that Japan's falling population and excessive concentration of people in the Tokyo metropolitan area are putting many municipalities across the country at risk of disappearing someday. Warning that such developments could lead to a decline of the nation as a whole, the governors stressed that prefectures will work closely with the national government to achieve regional revitalization. While the prefectural authorities need to work out effective plans to tackle their own problems, the national government for its part should provide adequate financial and other support for local efforts.

The governors, who gathered in Okayama under the auspices of the National Governors' Association, singled out seven priority areas in their efforts for regional revitalization, including measures to increase the population in their areas, resuscitation of local industries, development of human resources and efforts to prevent or reduce the damage from major disasters.

What is noteworthy is the fact that the governors called on the central government to provide much larger grants to support their revitalization projects than the ¥170 billion offered in the fiscal 2014 supplementary budget. They also demanded that at least 20 percent of national government functions covering local administrations be transferred to the prefectural governments' jurisdiction.