Town and village heads hold rally against compulsory mergers

About 6,000 mayors and local assembly chairs from more than 2,500 towns and villages throughout Japan attended a rally on February 25 in Tokyo demanding that the central government stop forcing small municipalities to merge.

This rally was the first to be jointly organized by the National Association of Towns and Villages and the National Association of Chairmen of Towns and Villages Assemblies. Participants were wearing headbands with the slogan, "Establish autonomy for towns and villages."

President of the National Association of Towns and Villages Yamamoto Fumio stated that compulsory mergers can never be allowed because they go against the idea of local self-government.

Yasuhara Yasumoto, president of the National Association of Chairmen of Towns and Villages Assemblies, said, "People who are responsible for their local municipalities must act together now."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda Yasuo read a message from Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro. Twenty-one Japanese Communist Party Upper and Lower House members, including Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi, attended the rally. (end)