Subject(s): Muncipal Amalgamations -- Local government policies -- Local government in Japan -- Japan in Politics and government, 1945- -- Japanese intergovernmental relations -- Political inclusiveness -- Decentralization -- Taxes and transfer in Japan's local finance -- Impersonal mechanisms and personal networks in the distribution of grants -- Staff loan and transfer among central and local governments -- Personal system and policies of local governance -- Municipal amalgamation -- Agency -delegated functions -- Local policy initiatives -- Local government development