Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned Friday morning to call a snap gubernatorial and mayoral election on the same day as a snap general election in the hope of winning local support for a third referendum on merging the wards of the city of Osaka.

But the decision by Yoshimura, who also leads the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), as well as that of Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama to step down is drawing criticism from within the party, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai. Its Osaka city assembly members are opposed to the effort and veteran parliamentary members worry the move will end up hurting the JIP in the Lower House race.

Yoshimura¡¯s resignation Friday applies only to his position as governor. He remains the leader of the JIP.

¡°I¡¯m asking people of the prefecture and city to approve and acknowledge my efforts to promote the merger of Osaka city¡¯s wards as a way of promoting further growth after last year¡¯s Osaka Kansai Expo,¡± Yoshimura told reporters Thursday evening.

If Yoshimura and Yokoyama are reelected, they would again attempt to merge the city¡¯s 24 wards into larger, more autonomous wards with a governmental structure similar to that of Tokyo. That first would mean a third referendum on the issue, after the last two failed to pass by narrow margins in 2015 and 2020.

This time, Yoshimura sees a double election in Osaka on the same day as a Lower House election, expected to be announced by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday, as the best way to gain Osaka voter support for what is one of the JIP¡¯s core policies.

¡°If the prime minister dissolves parliament, the timing (of a gubernatorial and mayoral election) would coincide with the need for a democratic process if we attempt a third referendum,¡± Yoshimura said Thursday night.

But unlike the two previous referendums, which had the full support of local JIP members, this time Yoshimura is facing more resistance from within his own party. JIP members in the Osaka city assembly passed a resolution opposing his effort on concerns it would anger voters who have already twice said no to the JIP¡¯s merger effort.

Former JIP leader and veteran Lower House member Seiji Maehara is also concerned. On Thursday, he said he doesn¡¯t see the point of the move and that, since a Lower House election is about gauging support for the LDP-JIP coalition, it would be better not to complicate things by also holding a double election for Osaka governor and mayor at the same time.