Features National Politics
Adam Westlake on May 21 2013
As Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto continues to dig himself into a deeper hole over comments he made last week about Japan's use of sexual slavery during World War II, his
Nippon Ishin no Kai (
Japan Restoration Party) made the decision to expel lawmaker Shingo Nishimura for making a statement in what can only politely be deemed a lapse of judgement. On Friday of last week, House of Representatives member Nishimura stated that Japan was overrun with
South Korean prostitutes.
Osaka Mayor
Toru Hashimoto, chief member and joint representative of
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) is looking to form a new political party to challenge the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in
the next Upper House election this summer. This comes after merging with Your Party and some members of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
The Osaka-based
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) leaders
Toru Hashimoto and Ichiro Matsui are
very happy with the appointment of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as head of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. However, their happiness ends there. As far as future tie-ups for the Lower House elections are concerned, the two parties may not team up together.
Osaka's
Toru Hashimoto announced on Saturday that his regional
Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka Restoration Association) political group was officially becoming the
Nihon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) national political party. For now, Hashimoto will be seen as the new party's leader, while Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui, who served as the secretary general for the
Osaka Restoration group, will hold the same title for the Japan Restoration Party. With general elections in the Lower House quickly approaching, Hashimoto says they plan to win a majority of the 480 seats.
Five members of the Diet, Japan's Parliament, have indicated that they will join
Toru Hashimoto's regional political group, the
Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka Restoration Association), setting expectations that it will meet the conditions to be recognized as a national political party. The group, led by Osaka Mayor Hashimoto, has already made clear its intentions to gain seats in the House of Representatives during the next general election. The five Diet members met with Osaka Ishin no Kai Secretary General Ichiro Matsui on Saturday,
discussing the party's goals and formation.
There has been a major current shift in Japanese politics since last week. After
the three-party agreement on June 15, the bill on tax hike and social security reform was going to be put to the vote by June 22 in the House of Representatives. After the decision to prolong the current Diet was made on June 20, Former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Leader Ichiro Ozawa announced that his group will definitely vote against the bill.
In a complete 180-degree spin, Osaka's Mayor Toru Hashimoto says his local political group,
Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka restoration group), is now
looking at candidates to enter the next Lower House election. This contradiction comes after just over a week of statements that the party
didn't have an interest in participating in the Diet, and was only looking for a bill that reorganize Osaka. The Osaka Ishin no Kai's goal is to have legislation passed that would have both the prefecture and city of Osaka merged and be recognized as a single metropolitan area, similar to what Tokyo has.
Toru Hashimoto, mayor for the city of Osaka, has said that his own local political party might not need to
put forth candidates for the next general election. After withdrawing from the
fight against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's campaign to
restart the nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, Hashimoto has said that his new number one goal is to have the Diet pass a bill that would recognize Osaka as a metropolitan area, as it does with Tokyo. The
Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka restoration group), headed by Hashimoto, wants Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka to be reorganized as a single metropolitan area.
After the news yesterday of two victims being fatally stabbed by a random attacker on Sunday in Osaka, the prefecture's Governor Ichiro Matsui
commented that the attacker should have just killed himself. This is in response to the attackers comments upon arrest that he came to the crowded shopping area with a kitchen knife because his original intention was for himself to die. Instead, 36 year old Kyozo Isohi went on to stab
two random victims that got near; 42 year old Shingo Minamino from Tokyo, and a 66 year old local woman.
Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, represented his political group in a meeting today with Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, where they discussed the group's
opposition to the idea of restarting any of Japan's nuclear plants. Also present was Osaka governor
