TOKYO: Local assemblies in Japan are stepping up efforts to avoid "three Cs"--closed spaces, crowding and close-contact settings--to prevent infection with the novel coronavirus.

Many local assemblies are now debating supplementary budgets including funds for measures in response to the coronavirus.

The city assembly of Shizuoka in central Japan is testing a system of dividing its members into two groups. All members gather in the assembly chamber during the submission of bills and voting. During deliberations on bills, half of the members remain in the chamber, but the other half move to a different room where they attend the debates while watching a monitor showing the chamber.

"It is inappropriate for city assembly members to hold debates in a closed, crowded and close-contact setting while they urge citizens to avoid such a situation," Tazuko Yamane, head of the Shizuoka assembly's steering committee, said. Discussions under the new system went smoothly, she said.

At the assembly of Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, every other seat in the chamber was left empty to prevent infection, with members left without seats asked to use desks and chairs brought to the chamber.

"The extra seat is uncomfortable, but it can't be helped," one Hyogo assembly member said.

But Soju Nagaoka, head of the assembly, voiced satisfaction, saying, "We had active discussions with a sense of crisis."

The city assembly of Tsu, the capital of Mie Prefecture, central Japan, held an extraordinary meeting at a gym having two basketball courts for discussions on a supplementary budget, with 48 people, including assembly members and the city's mayor, participating in the discussions.

It is rare for a local assembly to hold deliberations in a facility other than its chamber as a measure to deal with the pandemic, according the secretariat for the Tsu assembly.

On April 30, the internal affairs ministry notified prefectural governments and others of its decision to allow local assemblies to hold committee meetings online.

But plenary meetings were excluded from the measure as a local autonomy law provision requires assembly members to be in the chambers during such meetings.

Still, the assembly of the western city of Osaka is exploring the possibility of holding an online plenary meeting during a regular session scheduled for Thursday by changing the provision.

A member of the Osaka assembly asked, "While citizens are requested to refrain from commuting, is it OK for city assembly members not to do the same?"

JIJI Press