Yoshimura to Seek Re-Election as Osaka Gov. If Referendum Is Held

Osaka, May 17 (Jiji Press)–Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Sunday that he intends to run in the next gubernatorial election in the western Japan prefecture on the condition that a referendum on the so-called Osaka metropolis plan be held before his current term ends next April. “I will make another bid to realize the Osaka metropolis plan (for administrative reorganization). I will fight on the front lines myself,” Yoshimura told a press conference in the city of Osaka. He has in mind holding the referendum on the same day as next spring’s unified local elections. Yoshimura also made it clear that he will not run in the gubernatorial election if the referendum is not held by next spring. There had been speculation that Yoshimura, also head of the Japan Innovation Party, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, may opt not to run for re-election as Osaka governor with a view to a future return to national politics. Within the JIP, however, there has been strong support for him to stand as a gubernatorial candidate himself. The metropolis plan would reorganize the city of Osaka into special wards under Osaka Prefecture, a similar structure to Tokyo’s 23 special wards. The plan is a longtime policy goal of the JIP, but has been rejected in two referendums in the past. In a related move, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama, who attended Sunday’s press conference with Yoshimura, also expressed his intention to run in the next mayoral election while aiming to hold the referendum at the time of the unified local elections. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]