Japan's municipal mergers in Showa and Heisei era : a comparison of two government-led merger promotion policies

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Other Title
  • 「昭和の大合併」と「平成の大合併」
  • ショウワ ノ ダイガッペイ ト ヘイセイ ノ ダイガッペイ
  • 昭和の大合併と平成の大合併

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Description

After the World War II, Japan experienced two large-scale government-led municipal amalgamations: one is so-called Showa Amalgamation (merger rush of Showa era) and the other is recent Heisei Amalgamation (merger rush of Heisei era). Both two have the similar distinctions: they were carried out under the laws which promoted or hastened municipal amalgamations by means of financial incentives, but each merger was done voluntarily by the decisions of the municipalities themselves. Despite these basic similarities, there are three distinctive differences between Showa and Heisei Amalgamations, as regards: (1)advocates of the merger campaigns, (2)whether the merger promotion programs adopted population standards and reduction goals or not, and (3)dispersion of municipality reduction rates among prefectures. This article depicts these distinctions and, by analyzing quantitative data, points out that the great difference in reduction rate among prefectures in Heisei Amalgamation can be attributed to the stances of individual prefectures for municipal amalgamation.

Journal

  • 同志社法學

    同志社法學 63 (1), 331-353, 2011-06-30

    The Doshisha Law Association

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