8. Further implementation of metropolitan government reform

Promoting Reform for 2020

The essence of the grand reform of Tokyo that I have been promoting since taking office as governor is making metropolitan administration more transparent and realizing a metropolitan government that moves forward with the people of Tokyo. I believe that such reform is essential to realizing a Tokyo that continues to generate vitality and allows each and every resident to shine.

To that end, we have established the Reform Office, which I head, carried out a review of the costs to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, one of my campaign pledges, and advanced reform of information disclosure and tendering systems, among other efforts. With the aim to make the process of drawing up the budget more transparent, we have even gone so far as to discontinue the so-called seito fukkatsu yosan system, TMG’s unique system to set aside a budget to accommodate requests by the Assembly members that were not included in the original budget draft.

This spring, we launched Reform for 2020, which takes these activities to the next level. Through a combination of three types of reform, work reform, enhancing transparency, and system reform, we are advancing metropolitan government reform from two approaches -- instilling a reform mindset and system reform. Especially, with respect to extra-governmental organizations, we are advancing a sweeping review of matters, including strengthening the functions of such organizations as institutions that execute the policies of TMG bureaus and reviewing how these organizations should be.

We will disclose the progress status of these reforms to the people of Tokyo at a meeting of the Reform Office. And, at the end of this fiscal year, we will formulate the “Reform Plan for 2020” (tentative title) to push ahead with reform over the next several years led by the Reform Office.

System for Tokyo residents and TMG employees to propose programs

In an effort to incorporate a wide range of opinions into the formation of policies, we will also introduce a means to have the voices of Tokyo residents and TMG employees directly reflected in the budget compilation process. We hope to collect proposals for programs aimed at solving pressing issues, such as support for child rearing and measures to address the graying population, submitted by the people of Tokyo, and utilize new ideas that cannot be found in government. We will also implement a system to allow TMG employees to suggest programs, regardless of whether or not the program is in their field of responsibility. Along with designing highly effective policies that leverage the experience and knowledge of each and every TMG employee, we will also have this contribute to further enhancing the reform mindset of employees.