Hirofumi Yoshimura Pulls Every Lever to Push Osaka Metropolis Plan, Leaning on Takaichi Surge

Ishin Lawmakers Evading National Health Insurance

It has been just over two weeks since the Lower House election dominated by the whirlwind of Prime Minister Takaichi.

With the Liberal Democratic Party swelling to 316 seats in the Lower House, its influence is overwhelming—now the political landscape is basically LDP or everyone else.

Amid this, the Nippon Ishin no Kai, which forms a coalition with the LDP, occupies a somewhat floating position.

In the recent election, Ishin increased its seats slightly from 34 before the official campaign to 36—a modest success. But with the LDP comfortably exceeding a simple majority on its own, Ishin’s role as the coalition junior partner limits its influence.

Some speculated that the election could mark the end of Ishin’s usefulness:

“Ishin is done. Won’t they be cut off?”

However, fortunately, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (64) has stated that the coalition with Ishin will continue.

“As much as the LDP won big, it would be rude to just drop Ishin. But it’s true that the LDP’s landslide has diminished Ishin’s presence,” said a political insider.

Ishin has a long-standing goal: the Osaka Metropolis plan, which it has pushed three times.

The proposal was rejected twice in previous local referendums. At that time, Hirofumi Yoshimura (50) declared in a press conference:

“As a politician, I will never challenge the Osaka Metropolis plan again.”

Yet, now he is moving forward with a third time’s the charm approach.

In Osaka, on the day of the Lower House election, Ishin ran a re-challenge campaign for the Osaka Metropolis plan, holding a double re-election. The candidates were Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama (44). However, the opposition parties refused to participate, calling it a farce, and the LDP also stayed off the stage. In the end, Yoshimura and Yokoyama were re-elected, but over 10% of votes were blank—a highly unusual result.

“Blank votes can be seen as silent protest from voters. Even during Lower House election campaign events, many jeers of ‘Stop the Metropolis plan!’ were heard. There was also discontent over Ishin lawmakers allegedly evading national health insurance, making this election campaign very different. One Ishin lawmaker’s secretary said, ‘I’ve never had so many complaints while standing on the street,’ and was shocked,” said a source from a Kansai TV station.

After the election, Ishin conducted an all-member vote to decide whether to hold a leadership election. Ahead of this, Yoshimura indicated that if a majority supported a leadership vote, he would consider it effectively a vote of no confidence in him and would resign.

In Osaka’s 19th district, the seat was taken by LDP’s Tomu Tanigawa

The result of the Ishin leadership vote was 102 in favor and 619 against, meaning Yoshimura would continue as party leader.

“The 102 votes in favor actually represent opposition to Yoshimura and the executive team. It’s reasonable to interpret this as anger toward the leadership for unilaterally pushing the Osaka Metropolis plan, or as a negative view of the plan itself,” said a Kansai TV source.

Still, Ishin has no choice but to push the Metropolis plan forward. Reports suggest that Yoshimura is eyeing a national political career once the plan is successfully implemented.

One of the party’s founders, Toru Hashimoto (56), appeared on Fuji TV’s Shunkan LIVE Toretatte! on January 29, and smirked:

“Everything seems to be going according to the script.”

Ishin lawmakers from the Osaka faction backing Yoshimura reportedly outlined a blueprint:

“First, we drive the LDP into a minority coalition. If the LDP is in a minority, Ishin’s value rises, and that’s when we form a coalition and gain ministerial positions. After the Metropolis plan referendum concludes, Yoshimura moves into national politics, and Ishin expands further with ministerial experience.”

Political commentator Harumi Arima told our site:

“Yoshimura is clearly determined to realize the Osaka Metropolis plan as his legacy, something Hashimoto and Ichiro Matsui (62) couldn’t do. But the mood in Osaka isn’t entirely supportive. There are voices saying, ‘It’s been rejected twice already—why try again?’ At this point, implementing the plan is considered very difficult.”

This is where Prime Minister Takaichi comes in.

As mentioned earlier, the LDP’s whirlwind in the Lower House election had an impact. In Osaka, some districts saw competition between the LDP and Ishin, and Ishin barely won 18 of 19 districts. A major factor was that Prime Minister Takaichi refrained from visiting Osaka to campaign for LDP candidates, effectively giving Ishin breathing room.

An Ishin insider told our site:

“The 19th district was taken by LDP’s Tomu Tanigawa, ending Ishin’s nine-year streak of winning all districts. Just imagining if Prime Minister Takaichi had come to Osaka it’s chilling. Conversely, if Takaichi gets on board with the Osaka Metropolis plan, the momentum could change. Ishin’s leadership is desperate to get her support.”

There has long been information that Prime Minister Takaichi has a certain level of understanding regarding the Metropolis plan. Ishin’s long-cherished goal may once again hinge on a Takaichi whirlwind.