A year after it announced a three-stage policy to ¡°hop, skip and jump¡± its way to becoming Japan¡¯s largest opposition party, Nippon Ishin no Kai has met its goals in the first two stages, successfully hopping through last year¡¯s Upper House election and skipping through last month¡¯s nationwide local elections.
But the Osaka-based Nippon Ishin faces a long final jump in order to achieve its goal of winning enough seats in the next general election to become Japan¡¯s main opposition force.
Though it expanded its presence in Tokyo and won more seats in the Kansai region in this month¡¯s local elections ¡ª including key posts ¡ª the party¡¯s presence in some areas of the country, especially the more rural areas, remains thin or nonexistent.
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