The state (Bundesland) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is located on the Baltic Sea in Germany's northeast and it has the lowest population density and the lowest income level of all the states. Despite the continuing decrease in population and the surplus personnel in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, conditions in the state's administrative and financial departments have remained relatively favorable due to the support of the East-transfer funds system (Osttransfer). However, this funding will cease in 2019, and it has therefore become necessary to reform the administration to be on par with the administrative and financial levels of the poorer states of West Germany (finazialschwache Flächenländer West). Because the state government will transfer 1, 800 surplus personnel to the counties and consolidate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's special branch offices, administrative reform has become inevitable not only at a functional level but also at an areal level, and the number of counties will be reduced from 12 to five, which will include the return to rural counties of six city-counties (kreisfreie Städte). This so-called modernization planning of the administration in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was agreed to in the state council by a margin of only four votes on May 23, 2006.<br>The purpose of this paper is to investigate in detail the present state of modernization planning in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This involves studying the problems of the German administrative system, but it is also a useful way for us to accumulate knowledge and information that can be applied to administrative systems in other countries, such as the relationships between democratic demand (Bürgernähe) and administrative effectiveness, the conflicts between central cities and their neighboring municipalities in relation to the administrative systems of city-counties, the balanced development of all areas in a county, and the relationships between regional planning (Raumordnung) and administrative areal reform. These are all important issues in administrative geography (Verwaltungsgeographie).<br>In 2009, five regional counties will be established based on this modernization planning. They have populations of 247, 000 to 500, 000 and areas of 3, 200 to 7, 000km². Almost all counties, city-counties, municipality unions (Ämter), and municipalities that belong to counties (kreisangehörige Gemeinden) are opposed to the modernization planning of the administration which is designed mainly to improve the financial situation of the state without strengthening the self-government of the municipalities and counties. It also appears that it contains illegalities.<br>Not only the reform costs but also such topics as the holding of public hearings, deficit analysis (Defizitanalyse) of the present county administrative system, and the frequency of administrative reform have been discussed as part of the modernization planning of the administration. The long distances to visit county offices, the areal equality of new counties, and the relationships between the new counties and regional planning involving them have also been discussed in detail. The state government maintains that the problems caused by the long distances to visit county offices can be resolved using electronic communications (e-Government). Although there are some points that remain unclear in regard to the calculation of reform costs, it appears that the procedure of carrying out administrative reform in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is superior to the procedure used in Japan.<br>However, even if this administrative reform with legal approval is ongoing as planned in the future, I do not believe that all the other eastern states in Germany will carry out administrative reform in the same way as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.