OSAKA–The two ruling coalition partners have set up unusual showdowns across all 19 Lower House constituencies in Osaka Prefecture, the home turf of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party).
The Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin, which formed a coalition government in October, agreed not to coordinate candidates for the Feb. 8 Lower House election, which will effectively test the new governing framework.
The two parties have fielded rival candidates in more than 80 single-seat constituencies nationwide.
However, clear differences in the national policy stances of the two parties are hard to identify. And it may be difficult for a candidate to openly criticize an election opponent who is supposed to be a political partner.
In the Osaka No. 3 district, Nippon Ishin’s Toru Azuma is facing off against the LDP’s Akira Yanagimoto, among other contenders.
The constituency, which covers Osaka’s Taisho, Suminoe, Sumiyoshi and Nishinari wards, had long been a stronghold of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner until October.
Azuma, the first Nippon Ishin candidate to run in the district, won the seat in the previous Lower House election in 2024.
This time, the LDP has fielded Yanagimoto, its first candidate in the district in 30 years, following Komeito’s departure from the ruling coalition.
In his speech on Jan. 27, when official campaigning started, Azuma, 59, touched on the secondary capital concept that was included in the coalition agreement with the LDP.
He said it is necessary to realize the Osaka metropolis plan, pushed by his party, as an urban administrative structure suitable for such a backup capital.
“We will build Osaka’s future,” he said. “A Japan where everything is centralized in Tokyo cannot be good.”
Until now, Nippon Ishin has fiercely confronted the LDP in Osaka Prefecture and expanded its power base by positioning itself as the main counterforce to the party.
However, a senior Nippon Ishin official, referring to the coalition agreement, said, “We can no longer serve as an alternative for voters critical of the LDP.”
Indeed, Azuma’s kickoff speech made no effort to highlight differences with the LDP.
In his opening campaign speech, Yanagimoto, a 51-year-old former Lower House member, emphasized that the secondary capital concept is “entirely different” from the Osaka metropolis plan.
He also criticized as “out of the question” the snap double election for Osaka governor and Osaka mayor that coincides with the Lower House election, which Nippon Ishin initiated to seek a renewed mandate for its metropolis plan.
Three other candidates, all newcomers, filed to run in the Osaka No. 3 district.
In her first speech, Yui Watanabe, 44, from the Japanese Communist Party, pledged to immediately reduce the consumption tax to 5 percent across the board.
Takafumi Yamamuro, 34, from the Sanseito party, said he will make a strong case for proactive fiscal policy and tax cuts.
Yuko Utsunomiya, 49, from the Centrist Reform Alliance, said she will protect the peace of the Japanese people through diplomacy and negotiation.
(This article was written by Yuichi Nobira and Momoka Watanabe.)
AloJapan.com