Jun Katagi
Professor
E-mail:
Major posts
held:
Director,
Admissions Center, Waseda University
Subject:
Local
Autonomy System (Seminar)
Each students will choose an area of
interest or concern from following
topics related to local autonomy,
like decentralization reform,
“Doshu” (regional government)
system, “Trinity Reform”, municipal
merger, city-building, citizens’
collaboration, local community,
“designated manager system” etc. and
not only advance her/his research
but also help
cultivate skills needed to write
her/his thesis for master’s degree,
by writing up a report, giving a
presentation and participating in a
debate in the seminar.
Decentralization Reform
This course will reveal the current
status and issues of the
decentralization reform in Japan and
consider the challenges and reform
measures for the future, based on
the basic philosophy of the local
autonomy.
It will also talk about the current
difficult circumstances surrounding
the local government and its recent
development since the first phase of
decentralization reform.
The course will also cover current
important issues such as
reconstruction of local finances,
local council reform, citizen’s
collaboration, and local community,
as well as the history of
decentralization since the Meiji era
and local government system in
foreign countries and discuss what
is the most desirable system for
Japan.
Election
System
Election/political fund system in
Japan will be discussed in relation
to topics like “manifesto type
election”, internet campaign,
electronic vote, local election
voting rights of alien residents,
term limit for governors and mayors,
corporation donation ban and party
subsidies etc.
This course will also give an
overview of regulations on balloting
systems, election administration
agencies, electoral campaigns and
political activities etc. as well as
the election methods of other
countries so that we can get a
better perspective on how future
election/political fund system,
which is the basis of Japan’s
democratic system, should be.