1. Foreword

The year 2024 opened with a major earthquake. Structural issues that our country has long been putting off, such as the declining birthrate, aging society, and shrinking population, are now becoming more acute. If left as is, further decline in global competitiveness will be unavoidable. Adding to this is the growing number of risks that threaten our future, including wars and the increasingly serious climate change situation. People are feeling anxious about being unable to see a clear path to a bright future. To turn a blind eye to this and take no action would be an abdication of political responsibility. We need to firmly identify global trends and the direction of the times, and be resolutely determined to drastically change the shape of society.

Future Tokyo: Tokyo's Long-Term Strategy Version Up 2024 and Shin Tosei 4: Structural Reform of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which were announced last month, contain bold policies that will cause a stir in existing structures and systems. We will further brush up the policies we have implemented so far and open up a bright future with the strengths and potential of Tokyo, a city with infinite possibilities.

FY 2024 Budget Proposal and Implementation

Compiled with such thoughts, the proposed FY2024 general account budget stands at 8.453 trillion yen. It incorporates a number of policies to improve the city's strength from the three perspectives of “a city where people shine,"　"strengthening global competitiveness," and ensuring "safety and security.” Meanwhile, from the perspective of "wise spending," we have thoroughly implemented measures to eliminate waste. We have been further promoting the review and post-evaluation of policies, including the implementation of a new project evaluation focusing on the initiatives of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government （TMG） and TMG policy collaboration organizations. As a result, we have secured a record 126.6 billion yen in financial resources, bringing the total new financial resources generated over the past eight years to some 810 billion yen. By systematically utilizing funds and metropolitan government bonds, we have been able to develop a budget that gives more funding to necessary areas and less to those that are not, and also focuses on sustainable financial management.

We are also solidifying the operational structures supporting policy implementation. For example, we have built up manpower centering on the priority areas of the Future Tokyo Strategy. These include strengthening the response capability of public health centers based on experience from the pandemic, and improving systems to further accelerate support for start-ups.

Since assuming the office of governor, I have raised the concept of Tokyo as three cities: a “safe city,” “diverse city,” and “smart city,” and have been committed to realizing a bright future Tokyo that balances maturity and ongoing growth. The source of a city's dynamism is "people," which is why we are implementing policies under the three C's of "Children,"　"Choju （longevity）," and "Community," which focus on people. The problem is that the number of these "people" is decreasing. We cannot turn our eyes away from this drastic change. Understanding that it is our last chance to continue being a bustling city where people shine 50 years and 100 years into the future, we are determined to take on the challenge of changing the structure of industry, economy and society.