I have been appointed as the Chairperson of the Special Committee on Waste Management Measures No. 45

(Inagi Newsletter August 15, 2015 issue)

Currently, there are 813 cities (including special wards) nationwide, and there is an organization called the National Mayors' Association, which includes all mayors and ward heads. This organization became a registered body with the Minister of Home Affairs (now the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications) due to the amendment of the Local Autonomy Act in 1963, serving as a national federation of mayors. In addition to conducting research on local government finance and administration, it also acts as a liaison for discussions between the national and local governments in collaboration with the Governors' Association, the Association of Towns and Villages, the Prefectural Assembly Chairpersons' Association, the City Council Chairpersons' Association, and the Town and Village Council Chairpersons' Association.
Since it is too large to operate as a national organization on a daily basis, there are branch offices at the block level as its subordinate organizations. Tokyo belongs to the Kanto branch, which consists of the mayors' associations of each prefecture.
This year, due to the unified local elections, there were large-scale personnel changes in various positions. At the Tokyo Mayors' Association general meeting on April 28, 2015, I was elected to the National Mayors' Association Special Committee on Waste Management, taking over from the previous mayor of Machida. Being appointed as a member of the National Mayors' Association is a first experience for me, and I approached the first meeting on June 9, 2015, with a sense of seriousness, where I received the baton from the Chairperson, the mayor of Kitahiroshima City in Hokkaido.
To be honest, I felt hesitant to take on the role of Chairperson as a newcomer in my second term, but I intend to fulfill this important responsibility by leveraging my experience in addressing waste and recycling issues as the administrator of the Tamagawa Waste Management Association.
Additionally, with my appointment as Chairperson, I have also been nominated as a member of the Policy Promotion Committee of the National Mayors' Association, and I will serve as a director on the board, a councilor in the Council of Councilors, a member of the Social Education Committee, and a member of the research group on measures against declining birthrates and parenting support, which will likely make me even busier.
On the other hand, I have also been appointed as a member of the Central Environmental Council of the Ministry of the Environment, belonging to the Comprehensive Policy Subcommittee and the Circular Economy Subcommittee.
In various administrative fields, where "sustainability" is the keyword, the realization of a circular society is not just a goal limited to environmental issues.
I will do my best to ensure that my experiences in these roles can be returned to the community development of Inagi City.