A depopulated mountain village in Shikoku has drawn nationwide attention for saying it may set up a council in which voters participate directly in making municipal decisions — as a substitute for a local assembly — in case not enough candidates run in future elections. The announcement by Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, symbolizes the crisis confronting many municipalities threatened by sharply declining and aging populations as they try to maintain local autonomy. Taking a cue from Okawa, the national as well as local governments should look for the best ways to cope with similar situations in other municipalities.

The Local Autonomy Law allows towns and villages to establish a voters' conference to discuss and vote on legislative and administrative matters in place of a traditional assembly of elected representatives. There has so far been only one example of such a council in Japan. It operated from 1951 to 1955 in the village of Utsuki on the island of Hachijo-kojima, nearly 300 km south of Tokyo.

Okawa Mayor Kazuhito Wada said last week that the village will look into institutionalizing a voters' conference, although that would not automatically mean disbanding the local assembly. Okawa's population, which peaked at some 4,100 in 1960, has fallen to roughly 400 following the closure of a local copper mine and the relocation of residents of a former community submerged by a dam. A merger with nearby municipalities explored more than a decade ago to consolidate administrative functions never materialized. The village now has the smallest population in Japan, except for municipalities on remote islands, and about 45 percent of Okawa's residents are 65 years old or older.