Guest blog: Japan’s regions – could the Tohoku Earthquake lead to local government reform? by Joel Rheuben

[Joel Rheuben, LLB / BA (Hons) Syd, is pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law. We extend our condolences to the victims of the natural disasters and ongoing nuclear power plant emergency in Tohoku.]
On 30 April, the Democratic Party of Japan’s “Reconstruction Vision Team” delivered its preliminary report to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. Its report set out in general terms a range of potential mid- to long-term measures to reinvigorate the local economy and improve food and energy security in Japan’s Tohoku region in the wake of the 3/11 earthquake. Significantly, in addition to proposing options such as the establishment of a special corporate tax-free economic zone, the report urged the reconsideration of the relationship between the national and local governments more generally, including “keeping in sight a future State” for the region.

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