[etc.] Symposium 1 ―Transformation to an Independent Society and NPOs―

NPOs and the Shift toward a Self-Sustaining Society

Masayasu Kitagawa: Professor of The Okuma School of Public management of Waseda University , Advisory Board Member, Genron NPO

Born in 1944. After being a member of the Mie Prefecture Congress, he was elected his first time as a member of the House of Representatives in 1983. In 1990, he worked as Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Education. He worked as Governor of Mie Prefecture since 1995. He introduced “an office work evaluation system” to proceed reforms by means of zero-base evaluation of the projects. He also draws up and promoted "The Declaration of Mie Development", an all-around plan targeting 2010. He actively tackles reforms of the prefecture politics through these activities, using Start from average lives as a key concept and Information open to public as a key word. He has been a professor of The Okuma School of Public management of Waseda University since 2003. Graduated from Commerce Department of Waseda University in 1967.

Michio Matsui: President, Chief Executive Officer, Matsui Securities Co., Board of Trustees, Genron NPO

Michio Matsui was born in 1995. He started his carrier at Nihon Usen, and entered Matsui Securities Co. in 1987. He also held the Representative Director of the Industrial Leaders Associationa, manager of the Association of Tokyo Stock Exchange Regular Members, and director of International Foundation for Information Technology. He has authored "O Yannasaiyo demo Tsumannnaiyo (Do It, but It Won't Be Interesting)." Graduated from the Economics Department of Hitotsubashi University in 1976.

The relationship between politicians and their supporters has long been one of “politicians being patrons and supporters being clients” in post-war Japan. Politicians have worked to benefit their supporters through various approaches to the administration. As the steadily growing economy ended, this pattern lost its function. Despite this fact, the patron-client relationship has not diminished, because it is comfortable for both parties, and is convenient for the bureaucracy, which always follows precedents. This exclusive relationship ignores taxpayers who are the recipients of administrative services. Saying farewell to the patron-client relationship will enable the whole society to be transparent under fair rules. Mr. Kitagawa indicated that the keys to this goal are decentralization and the formation of manifestoes.

Politicians and political parties should design manifestoes as contracts with voters. Once they have the majority in the parliament, the contract should be executed no matter how strong the voice of the opposition parties is. The concentration of power may occur in this case; however, without it, there can be no progress in reform, and the existing exclusive relations between “protective politicians” and “dependent citizens” will just linger on.

Mr. Matsui stated that the closed nature of Japan had taken root in the Japanese people’s mentality. The mentality is equivalent to a “society that does not recognize losers”. A society that does not recognize losers does not recognize winners either. It is necessary to protect the weak, but if one does not recognize losers, self-decision and self-responsibility will not emerge. Mr. Matsui expressed his great concern over this system, by arguing that unless a system is secured where losers can have a second chance and where winners and losers are discerned, the market would not function and there would be no way for the Japanese economy to revive.

Mr. Kitagawa, as a mayor in Mie Prefecture, has been working for the delegation of power from the central government to municipal governments. He insisted that the central bureaucracy prevented the delegation of power with the opinion in mind that things would fail once power was handed over to municipal governments. Mr. Kitagawa contended that municipal governments should have the “freedom to fail”. Once the decentralization is carried out, the choice as to whether municipal governments or NPOs should provide public services will be made on a case-by-case basis. He explained that a rich society was the one with a variety of choices.