3 ms·

Despite the title, people who have never lived in Japan probably still don’t have a great idea of how it runs after reading the article. So here’s a quick rund

Despite the title, people who have never lived in Japan probably still don’t have a great idea of how it runs after reading the article. So here’s a quick rundown of how the decentralisation mentioned in the article is structured: Japan is split into 47 todōfuken (都道府県), their closest analog to a US “state”. You’ll hear these called “Prefectures”, but just like the US has states (Washington) and territories (Washington DC), Japan only has 43 prefectures, the rest are technically different types of district. Tokyo is (the only) “metropolis” region directly under the national government. Across Japan every local district is split up into shichōson (市町村), cities, towns, and villages. “Central” Tokyo is a special area where that standard shichōson system doesn’t apply, except really it does, we just call things “wards” instead. Every local district, whether city, town, village, or ward, is essentially the face of government in that community. They provide public services like sanitation, education, and community engagement events. When it’s time to vote, you will go to your local [city|town|village|ward] office and do it there. These local offices have quite a bit of power (and are what people are talking about most of the time when they refer to the “infamous” Japanese bureaucracy. For an excellent film looking at this world, I cannot recommend Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” enough. I believe it’s in IMDbs top 10 of all time), while they are often ridiculed for being slow and stuffy, they are a very real check and balance against the prefectural and national governments. Tokyo has a city-wide government (analogous to a state government) that is politically important at a national level, an example of the more illustrious institutions run by this level is the famous Tokyo metropolitan police. As the article stated, Tokyo is rich. 10th largest gdp nation in the world if it was an independent nation, this means there’s a lot of money flowing through that city government. Depending on who you ask, this is the level that shady deals, and blatant corruption happens most. The tabloids are always busy in Tokyo. The point is, all these powers seem to be quite well-balanced, and the citizenry engaged enough to keep them in check, in other words, like a well functioning democracy. I’m not saying it doesn’t have its downsides, and I’m no fan of Tokyo after living there for four years, but it is a remarkably well-working system. I’d still rather be in Osaka, or better yet, the countryside tbh.

throw0101a 5y ago
> So here’s a quick rundown of how the decentralisation mentioned in the article Sounds bit like: > Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism) > […] and the citizenry engaged enough to keep them in check, in other words, like a well functioning democracy. How is the need/desire to bring forward and expose problems balanced with the Japanese cultural habit (?) of not rocking the boat? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome * https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/出る釘は打たれる https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/出る釘は打たれる
- rablackburn 5y ago
  It’s not quite subsidiarity, at least not in the strict sense you’ve quoted. It’s not so much an organising principle as just how it’s always been done. The central government just doesn’t want to deal with certain problems. Going back to the 16th century unification of Japan the central government didn’t deal with individuals, they dealt with villages. You didn’t pay tax, the village did, as along as the tax gets paid they don’t really care who’s paying what. If the central government decides it wants to intervene more directly, there’s not much you can do to stop them. (Except give them the run around/work slow, and hope they don’t care enough to bring in the troops). I don’t think there’s anything hugely novel in their political structure, the difference is cultural. Design your system however you want, without the cultural commitment it won’t work (see: Liberia adopting the US constitution). You get around the tall poppy/not rocking the boat problem by consensus building. Japan is very good at collective action problems.
LogonType10 5y ago
>while [local districts/offices] are often ridiculed for being slow and stuffy, they are a very real check and balance against the prefectural and national governments What's the mechanism for local districts checking the power of prefectural and national governments? If the prefecture passes a regulation can a local district just say "no" or bury it in paperwork?
- rablackburn 5y ago
  The Japanese are experts at saying “no” without explicitly saying no haha. So yeah, bury it in paperwork. Lots of teeth-sucking and sending you to other sections. Infuriating if you’re on the receiving end, but it gives enough cover for local communities to push back

throw0101a 5y ago

> So here’s a quick rundown of how the decentralisation mentioned in the article Sounds bit like: > Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism) > […] and the citizenry engaged enough to keep them in check, in other words, like a well functioning democracy. How is the need/desire to bring forward and expose problems balanced with the Japanese cultural habit (?) of not rocking the boat? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome * https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/出る釘は打たれる https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/出る釘は打たれる

rablackburn 5y ago
It’s not quite subsidiarity, at least not in the strict sense you’ve quoted. It’s not so much an organising principle as just how it’s always been done. The central government just doesn’t want to deal with certain problems. Going back to the 16th century unification of Japan the central government didn’t deal with individuals, they dealt with villages. You didn’t pay tax, the village did, as along as the tax gets paid they don’t really care who’s paying what. If the central government decides it wants to intervene more directly, there’s not much you can do to stop them. (Except give them the run around/work slow, and hope they don’t care enough to bring in the troops). I don’t think there’s anything hugely novel in their political structure, the difference is cultural. Design your system however you want, without the cultural commitment it won’t work (see: Liberia adopting the US constitution). You get around the tall poppy/not rocking the boat problem by consensus building. Japan is very good at collective action problems.

LogonType10 5y ago

>while [local districts/offices] are often ridiculed for being slow and stuffy, they are a very real check and balance against the prefectural and national governments What's the mechanism for local districts checking the power of prefectural and national governments? If the prefecture passes a regulation can a local district just say "no" or bury it in paperwork?

rablackburn 5y ago
The Japanese are experts at saying “no” without explicitly saying no haha. So yeah, bury it in paperwork. Lots of teeth-sucking and sending you to other sections. Infuriating if you’re on the receiving end, but it gives enough cover for local communities to push back