3. Making people, the energy of Tokyo, shine

People are the energy of Tokyo, and to ensure that they keep on shining, we will continue to advance a range of policies for building a city where everyone can play an active role.

Protecting the safety and security of people

Supplementary budget for expediting measures

Safety and security are fundamental prerequisites for making people shine. To quickly implement urgent projects for disaster preparedness and measures against heat that prepare for summer heat as intense as what was described to be a natural disaster this year, we have proposed a supplementary budget to this regular session of the Assembly.

With this budget, we will provide support to municipal and private schools, as well as other private-sector entities, for removing concrete block walls that pose safety concerns and installing wooden fences. Support will also be given to municipal governments for installing emergency power systems in their main office buildings, which will serve as the headquarters for disaster response operations. As school gymnasiums will serve as evacuation centers in the event of a disaster, we will support municipalities in installing air-conditioning systems in the gyms of their schools. For intensive and effective implementation of heat mitigation measures for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, we will set up a task force in an extra-governmental organization. Regarding the installation of air-conditioning systems at school gyms, our support program can also be used for heat insulation work and design costs as well, and we also plan to expand the scheme to include schools that are leasing air-conditioning systems for their gyms in the initial budget plan for the next fiscal year.

To protect the lives of Tokyo residents, we will take effective measures in a timely manner and with due understanding of the situation on the ground. Your deliberations on the budget proposal would be greatly appreciated.

Building a safe and secure city

We must protect the functions of the capital from a massive earthquake that can occur at any time. To ensure that, based on an ordinance for advancing the earthquake resistance of buildings along designated disaster response routes, which are the lifelines that enable restoration efforts in the wake of a disaster, we are encouraging the owners to enhance the earthquake resistance of their property. Currently, more than 80 percent of such buildings in Tokyo fulfill earthquake resistance standards. To further promote seismic retrofitting, we aim to submit a bill to next year’s first regular session of the Assembly to amend the ordinance and prescribe obligations for those who occupy the property, such as tenants.

As for districts with close-set wooden houses, we will accelerate measures to raise fire resistance by preparing attractive places for relocation so that entire communities can move while maintaining personal ties. As a starter, we released last month an implementation plan for a project that will take place in the Kohoku district of Adachi-ku. By the end of this fiscal year, we plan to release a similar implementation plan for the Sekibara district, also in Adachi-ku. While taking measures carefully tailored to each area’s situation, we will continue to steadily work to raise the level of fire resistance of built-up areas and to create firebreak belts.

The number of aging condominiums is set to rise rapidly, and encouraging appropriate management of such buildings is also essential for building a safe and secure city. Enhancing the functions of condominium associations will be the key to this, and an expert panel set up in March discussed a broad range of issues related to the matter. Last week, we received the panel’s final report on the framework for a system. Based on its content, we will work on a new ordinance for advancing necessary measures, with the aim of presenting this ordinance bill as well to the first regular session of the Assembly.

Considering a new ordinance for helping citizens find jobs

An environment that allows everyone to play an active role in society will be the foundation for keeping Tokyo vibrant into the future. Particularly, it is essential that society as a whole embraces those who have difficulty finding jobs for various reasons and that a good employment environment is built for such people. Based on this concept of social inclusion, we set up a panel of experts last week and started discussing how we could better help people looking for jobs, with the aim of establishing an ordinance for supporting all Tokyo citizens in finding employment. We will continue studying approaches from various perspectives in order to realize a vibrant Tokyo where everyone can land jobs according to their desires and individual characteristics.

Nurturing people who will shine in the future

Next, I will speak about our efforts for nurturing people who will shine in the future. The Council for Educational Affairs met in August and discussed how to enhance children’s reading comprehension ability. Based on the discussion, the Board of Education last month launched a project for enhancing reading comprehension ability and self-learning ability, which are increasingly important in this era of AI. I hope the project will vigorously explore effective teaching methods based on the expertise of professionals and people working at schools, and will successfully formulate Tokyo’s own new education program.

Next week, on December 13, the Council for Educational Affairs will hold its second meeting of this fiscal year. To achieve a good balance between enhancing the quality of education and reducing the burden on teachers, the meeting will be themed on utilizing the power of senior citizens of the community and retired teachers for schools. Participants will discuss this theme so that schools will be able to provide a variety of attractive educational programs and reform the work style of teachers. As for work-style reform for teachers, which is an urgent issue, it is important to comprehensively advance various other measures as well. So, we will consider a new scheme for that purpose, too.

Regarding the reform of metropolitan high schools, last month, we released the outline of the New Implementation Plan (Second Phase), which shows the outlook for the three years from the next fiscal year. The outline describes ideas for creating schools that are chosen by students and their parents, including nurturing “meisters” who will support industries of Tokyo, establishing a science and math course to improve education in these disciplines, and collaborating with universities. The Board of Education will continue its deliberations so it can complete the plan in February next year.

Protecting children from abuse

The TMG is advancing studies on establishing its own ordinance for protecting children from tragic abuse. Based on considerations such as opinions from citizens and municipalities about the fundamental concept we released in September, we announced the proposed outline of the ordinance just last week.

With the basic idea that society as a whole should work to protect children, the outline defines parents’ responsibilities and clearly bans physical and other forms of punishment to prevent child abuse. In order to quickly find and respond to child abuse cases, the outline calls for creating an environment that makes it easier to report such cases to authorities and for having relevant organizations cooperate with each other more closely. We will have the ordinance include a wide range of matters, including adequate support for abused children, necessary guidance and support for their parents/guardians, and human resource development for ensuring the appropriate operation of child guidance offices, so that it will contribute to the sound growth of children and the protection of their rights and interests. We will continue to study the issue carefully while listening to opinions from citizens about the proposed outline, with the aim of presenting the ordinance bill to the first regular session of the Assembly.

Creating relaxing spaces for citizens

To realize a city where everyone can lead a fulfilling life, it is also essential to create relaxing spaces where people can enjoy rich nature and various cultures.

Kasai Marine Park added to the Ramsar Convention list

In winter more than 20,000 waterfowl come to Kasai Marine Park, which is located close to central Tokyo. In October, the park was registered as an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention, becoming the first such site in Tokyo. This is very valuable recognition given that wetlands are decreasing worldwide. I hope the registration will encourage more people in Tokyo to visit and enjoy our waterfront areas. And by leveraging the park’s location next to the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre for the Tokyo 2020 Games, we plan to convey Tokyo’s fascinating harmony of urban life and nature to many people in the world.

Formulation of the “Grand Design for Hibiya Park”

With cultural facilities and lots of greenery, Hibiya Park is a popular oasis in the heart of Tokyo. Now, 115 years since its opening, the park must make the most of its potential to meet the diversifying needs of its users. A panel that includes outside experts has repeatedly discussed how the park should be in the future. Later this month, the panel will release the “Grand Design for Hibiya Park,” which describes the future vision the park should pursue.

Works are currently underway to prepare the park for the Tokyo 2020 Games, making facilities barrier-free and renovating the large open-air concert hall. Last month, SPORTS STATION & CAFÉ was opened to build momentum for the Games and propose new lifestyles. Based on the grand design, and other matters as well, we will further enhance the attractions of Hibiya Park as Tokyo’s central park.