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| December 6, 2011 |
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| Results of Double Elections in Osaka |
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Elections were held in Osaka for Governor and Mayor of Osaka City. Candidates from a local party headed by Mr. Hashimoto Toru, Osaka Restoration Association, have won a landslide victory in both of the elections. Mr. Hashimoto's pledge to integrate Osaka's municipal and prefectural governments to the unified administrative body of Osaka Metropolis, similar to that of Tokyo, has now become a concrete project. The initiative begins with local level arrangements and then leads to involvement of the state in which revision of the Act on Local Autonomy will be necessary.
A Lot of Abnormal Incidents
His election contentions were characterized by the claims:
(1) If Osaka, or Japan, remains as it is today, will it be all right, when you see the emergence of Asian nations, including China?
(2) Osaka City must win New York and London in the global competitions.
(3) For these purposes the current double scheme of prefectural and municipal governments must be dismantled. Osaka City government structure should be disunited to be integrated and concentrated to a newly established leadership of Osaka Metropolitan Governor, who would be authorized to compile budget to support effective investment activities.
Newly elected Mayor Hashimoto, who stepped down governorship to run for the mayoral election, told in the press meeting after his victory on November 27, referring to the Basic Ordinances on Education and Public Servants that the election results had represented the right reply of voters since all arguments had been discussed completely and that the local assembly would have to respect the popular will. Touching on the two bills, which had been rejected by the local assembly, Mayor showed his intention to put them on the agenda again and order to dissolve the assembly if the bills would be refused.
Mayor Hashimoto then expressed that members of the Board of Education could quit unless they obey the election results, adding that public servants could do so if they would criticize his Metropolis proposal or object the disputed ordinances. He plans to cut 12 thousand city office workers and privatize subway and bus operations currently managed by the Osaka City authorities. Mayor Hashimoto likes to distinct black from white and prefers a top-down scheme to materialize the voters' decision.
Extraordinary phenomena were seen in the double elections in Osaka.
Good Countermeasures, Not Found
Why was the anti-Hashimoto camp lost? Primarily, no effective counter-project was presented to oppose the Hashimoto's initiative. Secondly, the anti-Hashimoto forces accused personal behaviors of the Association leader as 'autocratic' and in the electoral campaigns they argued him in the limited, personal context. A new term, Hashism, was created, as he was linked with fascism.
Slander against Mr. Hashimoto did not work to win sympathy of the electorate who had expected a breakthrough from the social stalemate. Opposition forces revealed his ancestral family background, but, consequently, the campaign had faded away in the advance of Hashimoto's camp. The latter insisted the party's superiority to the illicit confederation of political parties and assemblies to cling to the status quo. He fought the elections in the context of his group versus the existing political parties.
Political distrust, or more concretely, distrust over the existing political parties prevails. Good examples are the inconsistent attitudes of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which has kept betraying people since its inauguration and engaging in intra-party disputes in the central government level.
Any of the parties, New Komeito, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the DPJ, did not commit in the Osaka elections positively, fearing of Mr. Hashimoto's influence on the state politics backed by his great popularity. New Komeito did not behave as a political party, allowing supporters to make an own decision in voting. Involvements of the LDP and DPJ as political parties were too weak to be effective. The financial group in the Kansai area did not take a concerted action. According to some exit polls, a half of supporters of the LDP and DPJ voted in favor of Mr. Hashimoto. Thus he has scored an overwhelming victory.
Political Instability May be Triggered
There exist two barriers for Osaka to attain the metropolitan status. Firstly, the initiative could be shared universally by the prefecture as a comprehensive will. Osaka City and Sakai City, which are state-designated cities, must be disintegrated. New administrative divisions must be made. Other cities and counties of the prefecture must be restructured. In order to carry out these changes it will be necessary to set up an authority and endorse finance. Disputes will emerge among the municipalities and local communities.
The other challenge is to revise relevant laws, including the Act on Local Autonomy ultimately. Mr. Hashimoto says that he will start negotiation talks with the political parties and that he will field candidates from his group, which account over 50 in the Kinki area, in the parliamentary elections if the negotiation fails.
His behavior constitutes a kind of threat as his party gains solid power based on his personal popularity and the existing political parties are incapable to cope with his initiative.
The Osaka Metropolis Project is now on the agenda along with the policies on recovery and reconstruction from the March 11 Disaster, the catastrophe of Fukushima nuclear power station, TPP free trade initiative and a plan to raise the consumption tax rate. This situation may require rearrangement of the political structure in the central government. A cautious watch is also required whether Mr. Hashimoto's political impact may extend nationwide and work on the state level.
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