On the surface, former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Kazuhito Wada, the head of Okawa village, Kochi Prefecture, have little in common. Hashimoto is brash, confrontational and more interested these days in getting rich as a private citizen than in being a politician. Wada is quieter, a team player who comes across as a nice guy who cares deeply about the small village he serves.
Yet both men have been influential in pushing to the fore a topic that political parties and bureaucrats don't seem ready to grapple with: The impact of an aging and declining population on the structure of local democracy.
Okawa made headlines earlier this year because its severe depopulation left the village government scrambling to find candidates for the next election. Maybe, Wada suggested, it was time to consider scrapping the assembly and replacing it with a village assembly meeting, similar in spirit to America's town hall meetings in states such as Vermont.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.