Suginami Ward, Tokyo, is the first municipality in Tokyo to implement a so-called "participatory budget" initiative on a trial basis, in which proposals and opinions are solicited from the residents of the ward when formulating the budget.
"Participatory budgeting" is an initiative that reflects the intentions of residents when formulating the budget, by soliciting proposals from residents and having them vote for what they think is good from among multiple proposals.
Suginami Ward is envisioning how to use the forest conservation fund, such as the utilization of domestic timber, in the new fiscal year.
Satoko Kishimoto, Mayor of Suginami Ward, said, ``It is important to get results after hearing the opinions of the residents. Participatory budgeting is a concrete method for that.''
According to the ward, there are examples of "participatory budgeting" overseas, such as in Paris, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has introduced it from the budget compilation of 2018, but it is the first trial implementation itself in the municipalities in Tokyo. is.