HOSONO Gōshi

細野豪志

HOSONO Gōshi¹
A Revised Draft²
May 2017

Part 1. The Right to Receive a 21st Century Education

Article 26.
All people shall have the right to receive an equal education correspondent to their ability, without discrimination based on social status or socioeconomic status, as provided by law.
(2) All people shall be obligated to have all children under their protection receive general and basic education, which is necessary for all people.
(3) The dignity of children with disabilities shall be maintained. They shall have the right to receive an adequate education based on their specific needs and correspondent to their age and ability, and one that guarantees them the opportunity to learn together [with others].
(4) Public education—from early childhood education and elementary education until secondary education—shall be free, as provided by law. The right of the people to have an opportunity to receive a higher education correspondent to their abilities and individuality shall be guaranteed, as provided by law.
(5) All people shall be given the opportunity to receive a higher education correspondent to their abilities, as provided by law. The State shall use its endeavors to create such an educational environment.

Article 89.
No public money or other property shall be expended or appropriated for the use, benefit or maintenance of any religious institution or association.

Part 2. The Establishment of Constitutionalism During an Emergency

Article 46-2.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two articles, if it has been deemed extremely difficult to properly carry out an election due to a natural disaster or other circumstances, and if the terms of office of members of the Diet will expire within ninety (90) days, each House may pass a resolution which extends the terms of his its members for a period not exceeding one-hundred and eighty (180 days).

Article 54
(Paragraphs 1-3 omitted)
(4) If the House of Representatives is dissolved and the House of Councillors passes a resolution in an emergency session to the effect that it is extremely difficult to properly carry out an election due to a natural disaster or other circumstances, the phrase “within forty (40) days” in Paragraph 1 shall be replaced with “a date specified by a resolution passed by the House of Councillors in an emergency session and not exceeding two-hundred and twenty (220) days.”

Article 56.
(Paragraph 2 omitted)

Article 69.
If the House of Representatives passes a non-confidence resolution, or rejects a confidence resolution, the Cabinet shall resign en masse, unless the House of Representatives is dissolved within ten (10) days.
(2) With the exception of the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the House of Representatives shall not be dissolved.

Part 3. Moving Toward a Nation Based on Local Autonomy and Decentralization

Article 92.
The basis of local self-government shall be the promotion of the residents’ welfare and shall be based on the wishes of the residents. It shall be carried out independently and autonomously by local governments (chihō jichitai).
(2) The State shall be responsible for carrying out its essential roles. [It] shall, as much as possible, entrust local governments with governing the areas near its residents.

Article 93.
The types of local governments shall be specified by law.
(2) The partition, consolidation, separation, and incorporation (haichi bungō) of local governments shall be carried out by the governments in question.
(3) Local governments shall establish law-making organs and regional governments (chihō seifu).
(4) The law-making organs of local governments shall be assemblies or an organ that reflects the wishes of its residents. The members of the assemblies of organs that reflect the wishes of its residents shall be elected by the residents who are citizens (kokumin) within their local governments.
(5) The executive power of local governments shall be vested in the regional governments. Regional governments shall consist of a chief executive who is responsible for the administration of [the regional government] and other administrative organizations.
(6) The power of a local government’s law-making organ, the methods of selecting chief executive officers of local governments and their powers, the powers of other administrative organizations, and the relationship between regional governments and law-making organs shall be based on the basic principles stipulated in the preceding article. Those regulations shall be specified by law. However, local governments may issue an ordinance containing regulations which differ from [those basic principles].

Article 94.
The law-making organs of local governments may enact ordinances related to the affairs of its local government.
(2) The power to administer the finances of local governments shall be exercised as the law-making organs of local governments shall determine.
(3) Local governments may impose new local taxes as provided by municipal ordinances and modify the tax rate of local taxes which are determined by law.
(4) In order to guarantee the minimum degree of fairness between the State and local governments, the State shall take necessary financial measures while taking into account the affairs of local governments and their independence.

Article 94-2.
In the elections mentioned in Article 93, Paragraph 4, eligible voters may request the enactment, revision, or repeal of municipal ordinances, the dissolution of the assembly, or make other requests as provided by law.
(2) The residents of local governments may submit a residents’ audit request as provided by law. If there are complaints related to the results of the audit or if it is determined that measures should not be taken because of the results, a residents’ lawsuit (jūmin soshō) may be submitted to the court.

Article 94-3.
The residents of local governments may request referendums related to important matters concerning local governments as provided by law.
(2) If there are requests for referendums mentioned in the preceding paragraph, a referendum must be held.
(3) The law-making organs of local governments and regional governments must respect the results of referendums.

Article 95-2.
In the event of a dispute related to authority between the State and a local government, or one between local governments, the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Office (Kuni chihō keisō shoriin) shall handle the dispute.
(2) The organization and powers of the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Office shall be determined by law.

Hosono Gōshi (1971- ) is a Japanese politician and former member of the Party of Hope. After working at the Sanwa Research Institute, he ran for office and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000. A partial draft of the Constitution written by Hosono was one of several articles about the “Future of the Constitution” in the May 2017 issue of Central Review (Chūō Kōron). Hosono’s draft consists of three parts: education, emergencies, and local autonomy. In February 2018, Hosono published the Party of Hope’s revised draft of the Constitution on his blog. A few months later, in May 2018, the Party of Hope was dissolved. Many of the liberals members founded the Democratic Party for the People and some of the conservative members chose to reorganize the Party of Hope and retained the original name of the party. When the party split, Hosono decided to become an independent.