Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was facing a critical battle. And he lost.
On Sunday, a candidate fielded by Nippon Ishin lost a local government election for the first time in Osaka Prefecture, the power base for both Hashimoto and his party.
The result could mean the end of Hashimoto¡¯s main policy goal of merging key cities in Osaka Prefecture into a single administrative entity. Sunday¡¯s winner, Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama, is openly and staunchly opposed to the idea. Sakai is one of the cities that would be merged under Hashimoto¡¯s grand plan, which aims to give Osaka the same administrative status as Tokyo.
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