“New Public Commons” – A Financial Retrenchment Method for Japan

Yasuyuki Kitawaki
Josai University Sakado, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Japan’s financial position is the worst among the world’s major developing countries today, and the fairly new Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government formed in September 2009 faces the huge challenge of developing major financial retrenchment strategies. This account by the former mayor of a significant Japanese city reports on the financial crisis and explains the development of the idea and the practice of the “New Public Commons”, an innovative approach designed to make central and local governments financially sustainable.