Izumiotsu City Council Holds Children's Parliament

The Izumiotsu City Council held a Children's Parliament on Friday, March 20 (a national holiday) on the fifth floor of City Hall (the council chamber).

While the Izumiotsu City Council held its first Children's Parliament last fiscal year for elementary and junior high school students, this year's session focused specifically on students from the city's three junior high schools.

For this Children's Parliament, council members first visited each junior high school to serve as instructors for the entire student body, conducting study sessions themed "To Future Sovereigns: The Connection Between Our City and Politics." Following these sessions, the students prepared their questions for the Children's Parliament.

On the day of the event, a total of 11 student council members from the three junior high schools posed questions on eight different topics, including "The Abolition of Junior High School Districts within Izumiotsu City." They listened intently as the relevant department directors and the mayor provided serious responses, just as they would in a regular council session.

Through this experience, we hope that students will develop an interest in politics and that some will aspire to become government employees, Izumiotsu City Council members, or even the Mayor of Izumiotsu in the future.

In addition to the Children's Parliament, the Izumiotsu City Council is engaged in various initiatives to promote an "open council," such as hosting concerts in the council chamber and broadcasting general council questions via FM Izumiotsu.