The Democratic Party of Japan plans to submit a bill to the Diet banning heads of local governments from seeking re-election for a fourth consecutive term, DPJ lawmakers said Friday.
The move is apparently intended to underline the largest opposition party's reform stance ahead of unified local elections on April 13 and 27, political critics said.
The lawmakers said the party will submit the bill, possibly this month, to amend the Public Offices Election Law to allow local governments to draw up ordinances prohibiting fourth terms.
Many DPJ members believe that allowing heads of local governments, who are similar to presidents of other countries in the way they are elected and how they carry out their duties, to stay in office for a long period could lead to "dictator-style problems," the lawmakers said in a statement.
Under the DPJ's plan, the ordinances could be scrapped and revised through a vote of at least one-third of the members of local assemblies.
Mayors and governors are elected through direct elections, unlike the prime minister, who is chosen by elected lawmakers in the Diet.