4. The last two years and the next two years

Tokyo must further evolve as a city

Since taking the helm of the Tokyo government, which was under intense scrutiny by the people of Tokyo, two summers ago, unwavering in my commitment to the “grand reform of Tokyo” and “putting the citizens of Tokyo first,” I have been promoting metropolitan administration reform, planting new seeds, watering and cultivating them. I am confident that I have been advancing metropolitan administration for the people of Tokyo from the perspective of the people at all times, thinking about what needs to be done now to raise Tokyo citizens’ hopes for tomorrow, and for Tokyo’s bright future.

As I mentioned before, in the next two years, Tokyo will be a host for the Rugby World Cup and host the Olympic and Paralympic Games back to back, and will enter a crucial period where it must further evolve as a city. We will prepare a stage to unite athletes and spectators, and lead the Games to success as a festival that produces new records and lasting memories. Through the Games, we will show the world the current state of areas that were affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and support even more progress. With an eye to beyond 2020 when Tokyo’s population is expected to decline and age further, we will take the opportunity presented by the Games to make significant strides toward transforming Tokyo into an even more sophisticated mature city where all of its citizens are full of hope and dynamism. In order for Japan’s capital, Tokyo, which has a 150 year history, to continue to shine for 200 and 300 years into the future, I am determined to work on these challenges with strong resolve.

Progressing toward the “New Tokyo,” and responding to the mandate of our citizens

The many seeds of policies we have planted over a wide area thus far have now sprouted and are starting to bloom. For example, through measures to eliminate waiting lists for child daycare so that women can shine as they raise their children and hold down a career, we have reduced the number of children on waiting lists from last fiscal year by 3,172 as of April 1, lowering the number to the 5,000 level for the first time in a decade.

With the working-age population expected to decline, the TMG is currently advancing work style reform along with over 2,000 companies to boost the workforce participation of a variety of human resources and enhance productivity. We were very pleased to have around 800 companies participate in our “Jisa Biz” campaign to promote staggered commuting hours, held over one month this summer. That is 2.5 times more companies than last year. The percentage of companies in Tokyo with 30 or more employees that have adopted telework has increased from 6.8 percent last year to 19.2 percent. Diverse work styles that enable anyone to demonstrate their motivation and capabilities are spreading.

Concerning the long standing issue of measures to prevent passive smoking to protect the health of the people of Tokyo, we submitted the “Health First” ordinance at the last regular session of the Assembly, which was approved. We will also boldly implement growth strategies with an eye to Tokyo’s future, including measures to reinstate Tokyo as a global financial city and accelerate the development of autonomous driving technologies.

These are just some of the initiatives we are pursuing to improve Tokyo’s quality as a city that is livable, easy to work in, safe, and comfortable, and to generate sustainable growth powered by the people. We will continue to carefully cultivate each of the policies to blossom one after the other until they become large, beautiful blooms. And, using the Tokyo 2020 Games as the springboard, we will realize the “Safe City,” “Diversity” (Diverse City), and “Smart City” concepts, and make strong progress toward creating the “New Tokyo.” We will work diligently to meet the mandate of the citizens of Tokyo, making each day count toward these efforts.

Three keys to raising Tokyo’s growth potential

Currently, over half of the world’s population lives in cities. According to the United Nations, in 2050, that percentage is expected to reach nearly 70 percent. As the presence of cities in the global economy continues to rise, this is now the era of competition between cities, where a city’s competitiveness sways the country’s ability to compete. As such, Tokyo and all of Japan’s cities must leverage their own strengths to drive the country’s growth. In such a climate, what the central government should be doing does not include continuing to steal Tokyo’s fiscal resources. To truly revive local governments, including Tokyo, it must work to increase local tax revenues.

Amid the daily chaos of world affairs, including intensifying trade friction between the United States and China, all of Japan will fail if the country continues to only take an inward-looking stance and spur on confrontation between cities. To share this sense of crisis and put a stop to the central government’s movements, I have been actively meeting with people from the central government and leaders from ruling and opposition parties, members of the Diet, and others to request their cooperation. Together with the members of this Assembly, I will continue to expand understanding with regard to Tokyo’s position on the matter. And, while working to create a mutually beneficial relationship with all areas of Japan, Tokyo will use the following three keys to improve its vitality and growth potential to serve as the source of our nation’s prosperity.

Connecting people

Using the synergistic effect created by person-to-person connections to make Tokyo’s vitality and energy even greater is the first key. The vision set forth based on this principle, titled “Let’s Create and Develop Tokyo Together,” serves as the key policy direction for this fiscal year. With eight new strategies centered on “the connections between people” as the pillars of the plan, we will boost Tokyo’s vitality to the highest extent possible in order to drive Japan’s growth.

Gathering knowledge

The second key is “gathering knowledge.” This fiscal year we expanded the fields covered and extended the submission period for the program proposal system that we launched last fiscal year. We also started a new system to gather proposals from university researchers for programs based on their research outcomes and themes. As a new initiative, last month, we also hosted a meeting attended by the presidents and representatives of 19 universities in Tokyo to discuss topics such as Tokyo’s future and boosting international competitiveness. Their broad views and knowledge were very thought provoking. I will apply such wealth of knowledge in resolving Tokyo’s challenges and creating growth.

Carrying out reform

The third key is “carrying out reform." We have pursued the reform of metropolitan administration to change the structure of the TMG and how it works based on the three principles of “Tokyo citizens first,” “information disclosure,” and “wise spending.” This has produced solid results, including further promotion of information disclosure, starting from the revision of the ordinance, and program reviews, which have created 160 billion yen in fiscal resources. TMG employees are taking the initiative to steadily advance and promote “Reform for 2020” to raise productivity, including an objective analysis of their bureau’s main programs, promoting the move to paper-less, cash-less, and “stamp-less” (signatureless) transactions, and other efforts to create a stronger and leaner metropolitan government. We will create a TMG where employees can fully demonstrate their abilities, and under this open metropolitan government, advance important and worthy policies along with the people of Tokyo to build a sustainable Tokyo that continues to generate growth.