NHK has learned that the governor of Osaka Prefecture, Yoshimura Hirofumi, and the mayor of Osaka City, Yokoyama Hideyuki, have announced their intention to resign and hold new elections.
Sources said that Yoshimura and Yokoyama will run for reelection in their respective posts. They plan to campaign for the voters’ mandate for a referendum on the so-called “Osaka metropolis plan.”
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae may dissolve the Diet’s Lower House at the start of the ordinary session next week for a snap election in February. If the Lower House is dissolved, Yoshimura and Yokoyama are likely to try to hold gubernatorial and mayoral elections on the same day as the snap election.
The “Osaka metropolis plan” calls for reorganizing Osaka City and creating special wards similar to those in Tokyo, with the aim of eliminating the duplication of services provided by the prefectural and city governments.
The Japan Innovation Party had advocated the plan, but it was rejected twice in referendums in the past. Yoshimura, who leads the party, had said he would not propose the plan again.
But last year, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner the Japan Innovation Party agreed in their pact that they will try to pass a draft bill in the Diet session this year to establish a secondary capital. It would provide backup functions for the capital Tokyo.
Yoshimura had said that realizing the “Osaka metropolis plan” is a necessary condition for Osaka to be designated as the secondary capital.
AloJapan.com