The active involvement of local authorities has not been extensive, their legal and formal
involvement having been institutionally limited. Six local government associations have, to
date, aggressively participated in the deliberative process, one of their suggested proposals
being a cutback the equivalent of some US$10 billion. Most local governments, however, have
taken a wait-and-see attitude and, with the changes that have taken place in recent coalition
governments, the CPD has been at a disadvantage and the decentralization of public works
has fallen victim to divide-and-rule politics.
Nevertheless, these obstacles should not be exaggerated, as the degree to which
decentralization has been achieved can be measured by the number of democratic leaders who
have emerged in recent gubernatorial elections. The year 2000 witnessed the surprise landslide
victory in Nagano prefecture of Tanaka Yasuo, a popular writer, over the vice governor.