A deregulatory step now being considered may bring some of the leisurely charms of Paris and Vienna to Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, a key policy-setting panel headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said Friday that the government plans to ease a regulation on the use of public roads and river banks, which are now strictly supervised by municipal governments under the guidance of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
The council hopes the measure would allow entrepreneurs to open sidewalk cafes and riverside restaurants, and thereby revitalize old neighborhoods.
"The plan received high praise from many members at the council," economy and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka told a news conference.
Under current rules, only public amenities -- drains, street lights and pay phones, for instance -- are allowed to occupy public roads and river banks.
But the land ministry plans to rein in the policy and file guidelines that would help private-sector operators make better use of local infrastructure, the ministry said in a report to the council.