Local Government
| Administrative divisions of Japan |
|---|
| National |
| Prefectural |
|
| Subprefectural |
|
| Municipal |
|
| Sub-municipal |
|
Japan has a unitary system of government in which local jurisdictions largely depend on national government financially. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications intervenes significantly in local government, as do other ministries. This is done chiefly financially because many local government jobs need funding initiated by national ministries. This is dubbed as "thirty-percent autonomy."
The result of this power is a high level of organizational and policy standardization among the different local jurisdictions allowing them to preserve the uniqueness of their prefecture, city, or town. Some of the more collectivist jurisdictions, such as Tokyo and Kyoto, have experimented with policies in such areas as social welfare that later were adopted by the national government.
Read more about this topic: Government Of Japan
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