Local governments and businesses have put forward 280 ideas for special deregulated zones, including areas where farmers can produce wine and where a service can be provided to take out garbage for the elderly.

Among the proposals submitted to the national government in June by 109 local governments and firms nationwide, many pertained to education and medicine -- areas considered to be lagging in deregulation.

The central government will deliberate on which proposals to adopt, then submit to the Diet around September a bill to revise the law on special economic zones, giving preferential treatment to the ideas selected, according to officials.

The government aims to start receiving applications for newly selected areas in April, they said.

There were many requests to allow private-sector companies to run public schools, a concept that has yet to be approved.

Nagano Prefecture, for example, wants schools run by stock companies to be targeted for subsidies.

The Yokohama Municipal Government and other entities have called for child actors to be allowed to perform after 8 p.m.

By number, proposals relating to education topped the list at 68. By region, Saitama Prefecture, which had many proposals from municipalities, topped the list with 25, followed by Tokyo with 23 and Nagano Prefecture with 17.