61486    Later on, as the voluntarily marketed rice system was implemented and the voluntarily marketed rice in which the government was not involved in the buying or selling became more prevalent, the number of Food Agency personnel has been cut back.

61487    For example, lately, the downsizing by approximately 2,800 was carried out over the five years prior to 1993 and the current quota is approximately 11,500.

61488    Given the current cutback plan, there is no doubt that the number of personnel will dip considerably below 10,000 in several years.

61489    Then the size will be less than one-third of what it was at one point, but it is still is a large staff.

61490    More than a half of the Food Agency staff are rice inspectors and even under the new system the inspection is being performed on both the government-purchased rice and the voluntarily marketed rice.

61491    While the rigorous government inspections may have been necessary in those days when rice played a significant role in the national economy and the lives of the people, it is questionable if the government still needs to be directly involved in inspection using its own personnel now that the significance of rice has been reduced considerably.

61492    Rice inspections should be fundamentally re-examined, including the possibility of placing them under the control of the prefectural and city government or the private sector.

61493    The quintessential problem of administrative reform is what to do with those administrative agencies that are still in existence in an unrealistic shape and size after having become functionally obsolete.

61494    It can be said that for the food control system and the Food Agency that derived from the rice deficit era, to have been around to this day alone makes no sense.

61495    For this reason a drastic reform, not just a cosmetic patchwork, is desired.

61496    They say that local governments are the schools of democracy and local autonomy is the foundation that builds up democracy.

61497    This is the year that we elect the heads of local governments and councillors in the nationwide election.

61498    Additionally, discussions over decentralization are increasing at present.

61499    During the regular Diet session scheduled to convene in the end of this month, the government is expected to table the legislative bill to promote decentralization.

61500    Considering the foregoing, on the occasion of the first year of decentralization of power from the central government to local jurisdictions, this year gives us a golden opportunity to consider the existence and direction for local governments.