KYOTO -- In an effort to empower citizens in local politics, a civic group was formed here Monday to draw up a draft ordinance that would require municipalities to hold plebiscites upon request by local voters.
"Kyoto Shimin Tohyo no Kai" (Kyoto Group for Plebiscites) is also seeking to revise the Local Government Law. The group is a result of the increasing frustration among activists over the large number of proposals to hold nonbinding plebiscites that have been rejected by municipal assemblies, despite support from a substantial portion of local voters.
In most U.S. states and many European countries, plebiscites are held automatically once a certain number of signatures from the local electorate is collected. In Japan, however, the Local Government Law says that holding a plebiscite requires enactment of a local ordinance on each subject. Petitions for a plebiscite must be filed with signatures from 2 percent or more of the local electorate. Plebiscites can be held only after the petition is approved by the local assembly. The group is seeking to simplify the process and have authorities hold a plebiscite once a required number of local voters call for one.