Japan Press Weekly

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2014 August 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

Tokyo’s Adachi Ward partially stops outsourcing public services

Faced with strong criticism from local residents and legislators of the Japanese Communist Party, Tokyo’s Adachi Ward announced on August 19 that it will partially stop outsourcing its family registration service to a private company.

On the same day, the JCP assemblymembers’ group issued a statement pointing out that the partial cancellation is the result of the joint efforts among citizens, trade unions, and assemblypersons.

Condemning the local government for still planning to contract out to the private sector basic administrative services such as the national health insurance program administration, it stated, “The ward authorities should protect residents’ privacy and human rights.”

The ward farmed out the service to the Fuji Xerox System Service Co. at the beginning of this year. Since then, many citizens voiced deep concerns over the fact that a private firm is handling official documents containing a mass of private information.

JCP members of the Adachi Ward Assembly and the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Unions (Jichiroren) have repeatedly pointed out that the Family Registration Law requires municipalities to hold public servants responsible for managing the family registration system. Noting that the ward’s acts violate the law, they have demanded that the municipality put an end to the outsourcing.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo legal affairs and labor bureaus directed the ward to review its delegation of responsibility to a private business because it constitutes a violation of relevant acts.

Past related article:
> Municipality’s outsourcing of family registration service arouses public concern [August 18, 2014]