Japan Adopts Cabinet Order Setting Secondary Capital Criteria

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government Tuesday adopted a cabinet order stipulating requirements for designating secondary capitals that would take over Tokyo’s functions in the event of a major disaster.

Four prefectures--Hokkaido, Aichi, Osaka, and Fukuoka--meet the requirements under the order adopted at a cabinet meeting.

All four can be designated as secondary capitals if they apply to the government after either reorganizing their ordinance-designated cities into special wards or concluding cooperation agreements between the cities and the prefectural governments.

The order requires that eligible prefectures have a municipality with at least 14 central government agency offices and a municipality whose population accounts for at least 1.2 pct of the country’s total population.

It also stipulates that the prefecture’s economic output as a share of the country’s gross domestic product must be at least 2.1 pct on average over the past three years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]