<figure id="attachment_308815" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 3000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308815"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f667255c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/aflo_193456354.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308815" class="wp-caption-text">The Japan Restoration Association made a major breakthrough in the recent unification election (Photo/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
After the April unification election and a half, The Japan Innovation Party won overwhelming victories in the election of Hirofumi Yoshimura for Governor of Osaka Prefecture and Hideyuki Yokoyama, Ichiro Matsui&#8217;s successor, for Mayor of Osaka City. The Restoration Party also won the supplementary election for the House of Representatives in Wakayama&#8217;s 1st district in the Nikaoka Kingdom. In addition, the Nara prefectural gubernatorial election saw the first Restoration-certified head of government outside Osaka Prefecture, breaking the stronghold of Sanae Takaichi, a member of the House of Representatives.
In the prefectural elections, the party won 55 seats in Osaka, 21 seats in Hyogo, 14 seats in Nara, 9 seats in Kyoto, and 6 seats in Kanagawa, and in the second half of the election in Tokyo, the party fielded 71 candidates and won 68 seats. Representative Baba had announced that he would resign as representative if the goal of more than 600 local assembly members and leaders was not achieved, but he reached 774 seats, far exceeding the number of seats he had previously announced. The party has made great strides in becoming the choice of conservatives other than the Liberal Democratic Party in many parts of the country, and is no longer a party that only exists in Osaka.
 It is painful that they lost despite President Kishida&#8217;s two trips to support them,&#8221; said Mr. Kishida. I wonder who will take responsibility, Mr. Nikai or Mr. Seko.
The April 23 election for the Wakayama 1st Constituency of the House of Representatives was a virtual runoff between Hirofumi Kado, a Liberal Democratic Party candidate, and Yumi Hayashi, a candidate for the Ishin Restoration Party. Prime Minister Kishida twice supported the election in Wakayama, the home of former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and LDP House of Councilors Secretary-General Hiroshige Seko, including the final day of the election. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was also there on the last day, along with Mr. Nikai. The Ishin campaign was a dead heat, with Hirofumi Yoshimura, co-chairman of the Ishin party, cheering three times, and Baba also supporting on the final day in Wakayama. The result was a victory for the Restoration Party, which won a seat in the House of Representatives in Wakayama for the first time. The result was a victory for the Restoration Party, which won a seat in the House of Representatives in Wakayama for the first time.
In the second half of the unification campaign, a unification election was held in Tokyo, where the Restoration won 68 seats in a field of 71 candidates, including a number of top winners. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the Ishin finally made a major breakthrough after struggling for many years.
On the day of the first half of the unification election, Representative Baba declared, &#8220;We will reset the relationship of the House of Representatives with the Komeito party. In other words, up to now, the Restoration Party has been refraining from fielding candidates in the four Osaka and two Hyogo electoral wards where Komeito is fielding candidates, but the possibility of the party fielding candidates in the next lower house election has emerged, and given the momentum of the Restoration Party, which won a majority in both the Osaka prefectural assembly and Osaka city assembly, Komeito could lose six seats in the Osaka and Hyogo assemblies, which could result in a major This would lead to a major political situation.
 If the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito dissolve the Osaka Prefectural Assembly early, they will obviously try to crush the Restoration Party. They will put up candidates without question.
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Former House of Representatives Speaker Fumiaki Ibuki said at a meeting of the Nikkai faction on March 20.
 The momentum of the Restoration Movement is tremendous. It is similar to the eve of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) when we lost power.
The Restoration Party is no longer a party of Osaka, but has become a large bloc in the entire Kansai region and metropolitan areas.
As a reminder, the DPJ came to power and the LDP went down. What is the difference between the Restoration then and now?　The change of government by the DPJ in &#8217;09 was very similar to the previous year, when the DPJ made a major leap forward in local assembly seats.
However, the background is very different in some respects. At that time, the LDP continued to fail and the DPJ was an unknown quantity, but as a receptacle for anti-LDP forces, the big winds took center stage and increased the number of seats. This time, the Restoration Party naturally has some wind in its sails, but its reform achievements in Osaka have a basis in other areas where it is highly regarded and supported, and with the charismatic popularity of co-chairman Hirofumi Yoshimura, it has the potential to make a major breakthrough as a national party.
A senior official of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is planning to dissolve the coalition with Komeito, looks at the Ishin&#8217;s breakthrough from a different angle and says, &#8220;The Ishin is a party that is going to be able to win the election of Komeito.
 If the Restoration Party runs candidates in Komeito&#8217;s constituencies, it will definitely reduce Komeito&#8217;s seats in the Diet. The relationship with Komei will also change.
Ichiro Matsui, who founded the Osaka Restoration Association with Toru Hashimoto in 2010 and has also served as president of The Japan Innovation Party, has led the party for many years. After the first half of the unification election, he resigned as a member of the Japan Restoration Association and retired from politics. The charismatic Mr. Matsui, who has been the &#8220;weight&#8221; of the party, has been able to keep the party&#8217;s splits and disputes under control on numerous occasions.
As the organization expands rapidly in the future, there is a possibility of a split. Will the Restoration Party become the leading opposition party in the next general election? Or will it end up in the wind? The people will give their answer in the forthcoming lower house election.

 After the April local elections, The Japan Innovation Party won the election of Hirofumi Yoshimura for Governor of Osaka Prefecture and Hideyuki Yokoyama, Ichiro Matsui's successor, for Mayor of Osaka City. The Restoration Party also won the supplementary election for the House of Representatives in Wakayama's 1st district in the Nikaoka Kingdom. In addition, Sanae Takaichi, a member of the House of Representatives, won the election for governor of Nara Prefecture.

Prime Minister Kishida failed to win the election even though he &#8220;went to support him twice&#8221;&#8230; Is the &#8220;Restoration&#8217;s breakthrough&#8221; in the local elections a boom or a strength?

Prime Minister Kishida failed to win the election even though he “went to support him twice”… Is the “Restoration’s breakthrough” in the local elections a boom or a strength?

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