3 days ago
Osaka governor eager to make another bid for metropolis plan
Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of Osaka and leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, has suggested the possibility of making another bid for a so-called Osaka metropolis plan, an idea rejected twice in local referendums.
The long-discussed plan would scrap the city of Osaka and reorganize it into special administrative districts under Osaka Prefecture.
Osaka Ishin no Kai, the local party of Nippon Ishin, believes that realizing the metropolis plan will pave the way for making Osaka a deputy capital, which was a pledge made by the national party ahead of last month's Upper House election. Yoshimura is also the leader of Osaka Ishin.
"The metropolis and deputy capital plans are our key issues," Yoshimura said at a meeting of the regional party on July 30. "I want to face forward and move ahead with you."
The deputy capital plan calls for creating a city that would back up the functions of the capital borne by Tokyo and propel Japan's economic growth.
"Unless Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka are realigned, the area can't serve as a deputy capital," Yoshimura said, indicating that administrative redundancy needs to be eliminated in order for Osaka to gain that status.
The national party plans to compile a bill for the deputy capital plan in the next one to two months and also draw up a new proposal by autumn about how an Osaka metropolis should be structured.
These efforts are aimed at portraying the group as a party prioritizing reform at a time when it appears to be losing momentum in its home base of Osaka.
But benefits of the metropolis plan are unclear, as the Osaka prefectural and city governments, both of which are led by Osaka Ishin members, have been effectively conducting administration in an integrated way.
Yoshimura would also have to answer questions about why he is floating the plan again, having said he will not pursue another bid after it was turned down in a 2020 referendum.
"I don't feel like (the metropolis plan) will win a referendum if it is held now," an Osaka Prefectural Assembly member said.
