OSAKA – Hirofumi Yoshimura, head of the junior partner of Japan’s governing coalition, was declared winner in the Osaka Prefecture gubernatorial race held on the same day as the general election on Sunday, paving the way toward pursuing a metropolis plan for the western Japanese city of Osaka.
Japan Innovation Party head Yoshimura, 50, won a decisive victory, beating independent candidates Tamotsu Natto, a 44-year-old company executive, and Tsuneki Onishi, a 61-year-old co-leader of a small political group.
The JIP’s Hideyuki Yokoyama, 44, was reelected the same day as Osaka mayor, defeating 56-year-old company president Eitaro Chujo, 51-year-old artist Shin Adachi, 58-year-old self-employed Tomohiro Chiyo and 52-year-old non-profit organization director Shigenori Hayashi.
The Osaka-based JIP has proposed abolishing Osaka City and dividing it into multiple special wards like Tokyo’s 23 wards as a means of streamlining administrative functions and ending the concentration of power in Tokyo. It plans to hold a local referendum on the issue after failing with two earlier attempts.
“In terms of trying for the metropolis plan, I believe we’ve gained trust,” Yoshimura said during a press conference Sunday evening. “We will proceed carefully to gain the approval” of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly and the Osaka City Council, he added.
The JIP formed a coalition in October with the Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after the departure of its 26-year ally the Komeito party.
The LDP opposed the proposal in two local referendums in 2015 and 2020, and it was rejected both times by narrow margins.
Yoshimura and Yokoyama both resigned during their terms to run in a double election timed to coincide with the general election, seeking support for their flagship metropolis policy.
AloJapan.com