혁신자치제와 주민의 정책참가

People’s participation in the local administration of Kawasaki

This study aims to provide an analysis about the kuminkonwakai(Ward Dwellers Forum), organized in 1978, and the people’s political participation system in the Kawasaki municipal government. The 50 members of the kuminkonwakai which constitures a part of the opinion monitoring system study the conditions of the city life so as to draft policy recommendations during their two year term. But the municipal government has no obligation to adopt them. In reality, the kuminkonwakai members are active members of the various local organizations such as neighborhood associations. Since the end to 1980s, Kawasaki municipal government has try to add various kinds of councils and institutions as the ward level for the purpose of encouraging the local people of their participation in the management of city government. The role of these organizational bodies has been restricted to that of advisory one. But the establishment of local initiative based on the principle of participatory democracy has been regarded as one o f the indispensable elements for the Japanese political reform. In this respect, the position of the research center affiliated in the Kawasaki public workers union, demanding the establishment of an assembly type ward meeting, should be considered seriously. It is apparent that those who hope to substitute grass-root democracy for grass-root conservatism should face the reality and try to change the basic social relations in the local community.