FY2024 Town Administration Policy

In Japan, the Constitution of Japan was enacted with a strong determination never to repeat a tragic war, and its preamble pledges "permanent peace." Unfortunately, however, we are in a very worrying situation where tragic wars are expanding, including Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Israel's military invasion of the Gaza Strip in Palestine last year. In addition, as a result of the economic activities we have been engaged in, the global environment is continuing to deteriorate, with global warming due to increased carbon dioxide emissions and the expansion of marine pollution due to plastic waste, and we are facing a situation in which "reducing the burden on the global environment" and "taking measures against climate change" are urgently required in order to pass on a rich global environment to the next generation.

Furthermore, due to the rapidly declining birthrate in Japan, the population has been decreasing at a pace of 1 million people every year since peaking at 1.2 billion in December 2008, and is expected to decrease to 63 million people by 2100. is expected. The Population Strategy Council's ``Population Vision 2100,'' released in January this year, states that there is no future for Japan unless the population decline is stopped at 80 million people, and that drastic measures based on ``investment in people'' are needed. We are currently formulating a strategy to strengthen our business.
In addition, in Japan, 34 years ago in 1990, due to a sense of crisis over concentration in Tokyo, the Diet and other government-related organizations were relocated to local areas, and in 1993, the central government system was corrected and a vital nation was created. For this reason, resolutions to promote decentralization have been passed in the Diet, but unfortunately none of them have been completed.

Looking at the state of the country's finances, the outstanding national debt is expected to reach 1,105 trillion yen by the end of March, which is twice the size of the country's economy (GDP), which is the source of national tax revenue. This is a worrying situation. Regarding the living situation by comparing the "median income distribution of all households," the median was 5.05 million yen in 1994, 30 years ago, decreased to 3.75 million yen in 2019, and in 2021 In terms of people's lives, prices are rising and household income is decreasing, with income disparities continuing to widen.
Despite the harsh economic environment at home and abroad, the basic resident register population in Honmachi has reached the minimum of 4,483 people in 1990, 34 years ago, and has since remained flat to a slight increase, reaching the 5,000 level. I did. The budget for town taxes in 2009 was 609 million yen, but this year's initial budget was 974 million yen. This is due to the location of tourism-related facilities and the expansion of the employment environment by attracting businesses, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the efforts of the town residents, town council members, and business operators.

On October 1st of this year, the town will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of changing its name from "Karifuto-cho" to "Niseko Town". I would like to express my deep respect for the initiative of the townspeople at that time, who led the movement to rename the station from Karifu Station to Niseko Station, and even changed the town name, and I am determined to continue to work toward sustainable town development in order to honor the efforts of our predecessors.
In compiling this year's budget, we have sought to align it with the national local government financial plan, and in addition to the three previous issues of 1. shifting from a "society that prioritizes economic rationality" to creating a "society of empathy capital" that values the dignity of people, 2. correcting the ever-widening disparities in living standards, and 3. "reducing the burden on the global environment" and "countermeasures against climate change," this year we have placed emphasis on further improving the environment for raising children, including expanding the scope of free school lunch fees.

In the new fiscal year, we will continue to take measures to address housing shortages and improve transportation convenience, and as a city where Takeo Arishima's last teachings of ``mutual aid'' are still alive, the elderly who have built today's society from their children can feel at ease. We will continue to develop cities that are livable and that respect human dignity.
In addition, in terms of attracting companies that we have been promoting so far, we have created a ``Small World City Niseko'' where people can feel the ease of living in our comprehensive plan and an ``Environmental Creative City'' that values the environment and landscape. We will continue our efforts to attract high-quality companies that sympathize with Niseko, a sustainable and mutually supportive city that co-creates the future of children, and that will participate in community development.
In addition, we have so far made recommendations to the government: 1. For land whose owners are unknown, the ownership of the land should be transferred to the desired local government; and 2. For the creation of digital nomad visas, the period of stay should be extended. 3. We will continue to make requests for the fundamental expansion of the subsidy system for maintaining water facilities, such as for earthquake-resistance renovations.

In fiscal year 2024, we will continue to bring together the wisdom of our townspeople, town council members, and town hall staff, who are local government professionals, and we will continue to pursue town administration while valuing the principles of the "Constitution of Japan" and the "Niseko Town Basic Ordinance for Town Development" and not putting off any issues.

Next, I would like to report on the basic concept of budget execution.