Prefectural Assembly to be reduced from 79 to 29 in response to the “people’s” vote…Governor Yoshimura’s “tricks” to realize the “Osaka Metropolis Concept”.

I will not try a third time.

Osaka has been rocked three times by the “metropolitan government” concept.

The so-called “Osaka Metropolis Plan,” which aims to unify the wide-area administration of Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City. The Japan Innovation Party and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura (50) has once again put the issue on the table following the results of the double election held in Osaka in February, although the Osaka Metropolis referendum was rejected in 2003 and 2008.

While the pros and cons of the metropolitan government concept itself should be debated, Mr. Yoshimura said in the previous referendum

As a politician, I will frankly accept the judgment of the citizens of Osaka,” Yoshimura said. Therefore, I will not try a third time.

He reversed his decision and this time he is not going to challenge the referendum a third time. Since he has reversed himself, it seems that this time he is using every trick in the book to improve his chances of winning.

On April 1, he caused controversy when he said that the scope of the referendum could be expanded from citizens to residents of the prefecture.

If the sub-capital bill agreed to by the Restoration Association and the Liberal Democratic Party is approved, the name will also be changed to “Metropolis,” and if the prefecture is to become a metropolis

“The bill says that the entire prefecture will vote on the referendum.

This is the logic.

The difference between the two referendums was minimal, with a majority in favor of the metropolitan plan in the recent prefectural election. According to a Restoration official.

“If the metropolitan plan is applied to the entire prefecture, not just the cities, the chances of its passage will go up,” said a source close to the Restoration Movement.

However, the idea of local self-government is not a viable option.

However, some experts argue that this is against the principle of local autonomy. Yoshitaka Tsuji, a member of the Osaka City Council and a member of the New Komeito Party, said in X

I can’t keep my mouth shut. （If this proposal is allowed to go through, it could set a precedent for the disappearance of cities, towns, and villages anywhere in Japan by a majority vote of surrounding municipalities.

He pointed the finger at the residents of Osaka City. In other words, the residents of Osaka City are opposed to the idea, but there is a possibility that Toyonaka City, Suita City, Takatsuki City, and other cities will vote in favor of the metropolitan government.

At the same time, the Restoration has begun “reforming the prefectural assembly.

Is This Really “Cutting-Earth Reform?

A project team of the Osaka prefectural assembly of the Osaka Restoration Association, a regional political party, has announced that it will reduce the number of prefectural assembly members by 50 seats from the current 79 to 29.

The number of prefectural assembly members was reduced from 109 to 88 in 2003 and 79 in 2011. The reduction in the number of prefectural assembly members this time around is a far cry from the previous cuts, and some have questioned the effectiveness of the plan. Ichiro Matsui, founder of the Restoration Association and former governor of the prefecture, said in an X

The number of Diet members, which is the foundation of democracy, is not something that can be simply reduced.

It is too violent and a performance,” he said.

The population of Osaka Prefecture is approximately 8.77 million. If there were 29 prefectural assembly members, each of them would represent 300,000 people, which is outstanding compared to other areas.

Political commentator Harumi Arima told this website, “I wonder if they will be able to face the opinions of the citizens,

I doubt that they will be able to face the opinions of the citizens. More than that, as can be seen from the fact that the Restoration Party won 18 out of 19 electoral districts in the recent lower house election, the top electoral districts in which more than one party is elected to the prefectural assembly are occupied by Restoration Party members. In other words, even if the number of seats is reduced under the guise of “cutting back reform,” it will not be the members of the Restoration Party who will fall, but those of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito. If that happens, the Restoration Party will be left to its own devices.

He analyzed the situation.

The Restoration side claims to have referred to the London Assembly in the U.K. as a basis for their argument for the 29 members, but it must not be forgotten that London took years of careful coordination to get to where it is today.

On April 5, the Osaka City Council of the Restoration Association began holding town meetings to hear the opinions of residents. About 350 city residents attended the meeting, which for some reason was closed to the press. As expected, the residents have been asking for their opinions.

Why hold another referendum when it has been rejected twice before? It’s absurd.

Some of the residents expressed their “reasonable” opinions, such as “It’s absurd.

We should hold the town meeting only after more discussion has been conducted.

Some even questioned the town meeting itself, saying that it should be held only after more discussion had taken place. Takashi Takeshita, secretary general of the Ishin City Council, said

Mr. Takashi Takeshita, secretary general of the Restoration City Council, stated, “Without the opinions of Osaka citizens in particular, it is difficult to proceed without their understanding, so we would like to come up with some final ideas.

He stated. The director of a TV station in Osaka said.

On the first day of the town meeting, the 5th, Governor Yoshimura appeared as a secret guest at the KANSAI COLLECTION held at Kyocera Dome Osaka. On the runway, he took off his cape in a spectacular manner and wowed the audience. …… Perhaps he should have shown up at the town meeting rather than the Kansai Collection.”

Mr. Yoshimura has expressed his desire to hold a referendum on the metropolitan government concept as early as next April. What will happen?