From our other sites
The story
On September 5, Fukuoka Governor Seitaro Hattori, together with the mayors of Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City, submitted a petition to the government seeking designation as a “secondary capital” — a stand-in for the capital’s functions in the event of a disaster. The petition was received by the minister in charge of promoting secondary capital development. The secondary capital concept gained real momentum as an extension of the “Osaka Metropolis Plan” championed by the Osaka Ishin no Kai, and besides Fukuoka, several other municipalities — including Hokkaido, Aichi, and Hiroshima — have also put themselves forward as candidates. On 5ch, the thread ranged from whether Fukuoka is actually suitable from a disaster-preparedness standpoint, to comparisons with other candidate regions like Osaka.
On the “secondary capital” concept, which would back up Tokyo’s capital functions during a disaster or other emergency:
On September 5, Fukuoka Governor Hattori and others submitted a petition to the government calling for the prefecture to be designated the secondary capital.
On the 5th, three officials — Fukuoka Governor Hattori, Fukuoka City Mayor Takashima, and Kitakyushu City Mayor Takeuchi — appeared together at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Tokyo. The three jointly handed Minister Fujii, who oversees secondary capital development promotion, a petition calling for realizing “Fukuoka Prefecture as secondary capital.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Headquarters relocated to Hiroshima and it became a front-line command post, you know.
You know exactly how it works, lol
Though if Mt. Aso erupts, it's game over for Japan anyway — so let's just set that scenario aside.
The disaster angle is just a pretext for pushing the secondary capital plan, so it's pointless. Osaka and Aichi are arguably the riskiest of all.
That kind of thing doesn't matter anyway — this only really moves with Osaka at the center. Everywhere else is just bait to get more municipalities on board with the secondary capital idea.
You're seeing it right. This whole thing started because Osaka Ishin wanted to push the secondary capital plan and dragged other municipalities into it. Any city jumping on this bandwagon is a fool, lol
I see that too… and I see they want to get it done while the Takaichi administration is in power.
That said, if it ends up being Fukuoka, Hokkaido, or Aichi instead of Osaka, that'd actually be interesting.
So I'm not against the secondary capital idea itself.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, power-sharing broke down and there were rolling blackouts everywhere, remember?
In the first place, Kansai Electric is the dominant player in the power industry — eastern Japan's power situation, hamstrung by its nuclear plants, is expensive and weak to begin with.
<Market Cap>
1. Kansai Electric Power — approx. ¥2.99 trillion
2. Chubu Electric Power — approx. ¥1.95 trillion
3. Tokyo Electric Power — approx. ¥1.14 trillion
But plot twist — the secondary capital government building goes in Tagawa City.
Given the big names in the current administration, it might actually end up in Iizuka.
Terrible access, lol
And now, here's footage of the secondary capital's Coming-of-Age Day ceremony!
And while you're at it, tear down Kasumigaseki (Tokyo's central government district) and scatter it across the regions.
Niigata's not a bad shout actually — it's got a big plain.
No good — too exposed to invasion from China or North Korea.
Well, if a disaster hits Kyushu first, I'd want secondary-capital Fukuoka to take full responsibility for the recovery.
Forgetting about typhoons, are we?
Background and Key Points of This Debate
“Secondary capital” isn’t a legally defined status — it’s still at the stage where multiple municipalities are voluntarily putting themselves forward as backup locations for capital functions. The debate gained real traction as an extension of the “Osaka Metropolis Plan” championed by Osaka Ishin no Kai, and besides Fukuoka, candidates include Hokkaido, Aichi, Hiroshima, and Miyagi, though there’s no unified selection criteria. The thread split between those arguing priority should go to regions with lower risk from major disasters like the Nankai Trough earthquake, and those countering that Kyushu itself faces earthquake, volcanic, and typhoon risks — a question that really calls for expert disaster-risk assessment rather than being settled by internet impressions alone.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “Petition Submitted for Realizing ‘Fukuoka Prefecture as Secondary Capital’.”
Leave a Reply