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Home >> National and Regional Planning Bureau >> The Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations >> Reports >> Report of the Council for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations >> Preface
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The Council for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations (referred to herein as “the Council”) was established in accordance with the Act for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations (referred to herein as “the Relocation Act”). On December 19, 1996, the Council received a request for advice from the Prime Minister on the selection of candidate sites for the relocation of the Diet and other organizations, and on other related subjects in accordance with the provision of Paragraph 1, Article 13 of the Relocation Act.
In the request, the Prime Minister asked the Council for its opinion regarding candidate sites for the relocation of the Diet and other organizations (referred to herein as “candidate sites for the relocation”) as set forth in Article 1 of the Relocation Act, specifically, the core functions of the three powers of government (legislative, administrative, and judicial) comprising the Diet, the Cabinet, the central governmental offices, and the Supreme Court. The relocation of the Diet and other organizations or the relocation of the capital functions means the relocation of the above-mentioned functions.
In November 1990, when the Diet observed its one-hundredth anniversary, the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors passed a resolution calling for the relocation of the Diet and other organizations. In December 1992, the Diet passed the Relocation Act and established the Investigating Committee for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations (referred to herein as “the Investigating Committee”). In December 1995, the Investigating Committee presented a report (referred to herein as “the Investigating Committee Report”) to clarify the fundamental aspects of this policy, including the significance of the relocation of the capital functions and the criteria for selecting candidate sites for the relocation. In June 1996, the Relocation Act was partially amended to establish the Council. With this amendment, the process of relocating the capital functions had advanced to a new stage.
The Relocation Act (Article 23) specifies that the decision for a new city site be the result of a new law passed by the Diet with respect for the report of the Council. Based on the Relocation Act, the role of the Council is to conduct inquiries and deliberations from a special and neutral standpoint and to present a report on the selection of candidate sites for relocation and related subjects to help the Diet decide on the new city site (Articles 13 and 14 of the Relocation Act).
Since its establishment, the Council has worked for about three years. In accordance with the criteria presented in the Investigating Committee Report and other criteria, the Council first chose the regions requiring more detailed investigation, and then conducted inquiries and deliberations regarding these regions from diverse viewpoints. The council held 31 meetings. This report is based on the results of these inquiries and deliberations.
