The Japanese Government, especially the Ministry of Interior, expressed disapproval of that draft, and objected to the direct election of prefectural governors. As a result, based on the draft by the GHQ, the Constitution has come to provide for the following: (1) rules and regulations governing local public entities to be fixed in accordance with "the principle of local autonomy"; (2) the direct popular election of executive officers and assembly members in all local public entities; (3) the right of local public entities to manage local government property, affairs, and administration and to enact their own regulations; and (4) consent by the majority of the voters before any special law applicable to one local public entity can be enacted by the Diet.
As these rules express, it is significant that the Constitution guarantees local autonomy. The following points are especially important. First, the Constitution clearly points to the essence of local autonomy. The introduction of the principle of local autonomy in the Constitution implies the protection of the local governments against the national government, and at the same time initiates the development of local autonomy. Second, the Constitution purports to guarantee that the national government does not necessarily restrict or violate the rights of local public entities. Third, the Constitution expressly and positively delegates powers to local public entities. Local public entities have the power to manage and administer their own affairs to insure social welfare in their communities and to maintain public order and security. Thus, local public entities have acquired financial, executive, and legislative powers.