Abstract:

The local government history of Japan dates back to 1868-1912. However, the real development of local governments started after 1947. Before 1947, Japan organized its local governments by being influenced by the Prussian system. As a result of this arrangement, local governments were left under the heavy tutelage of the central government. Japan entered the democratization process with the enactment of the Japanese Constitution in 1947. In this process, it has adopted a decentralized understanding in the structuring of local governments. Local governments in Japan are included in 4 articles in Chapter 8 of the 1947 Constitution. In these articles, it is stated that local governments are autonomous organizations. The local government structure of Japan is divided into general local government units and special administrative units. Governors and municipalities are at the head of the general local government units. Of the special local government units, only Tokyo has been shaped in a structure specific to the special municipal government. For this reason, there are 23 autonomous neighborhood administrations in Tokyo under the Tokyo Metropolitan Administration. The Metropolitan Administration provides basic local government services such as water, sewerage and garbage collection to all neighborhoods under it. In addition, services such as housing production, environmental pollution and aid to needy children, which are undertaken by the central government in most countries, are produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In this context, the management style, the relationship between the central government and the financial and organizational structure of Tokyo, which has a special administrative structure, were examined in this study. In addition, within the scope of the study, the administrative structure of Japan and the development of local governments are discussed in a historical perspective. The study was created by the method of literature review.

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