OSAKA ¨C The Osaka Municipal Assembly has approved a proposal to establish a statutory council that will discuss a system for what has become known as the Osaka metropolis plan, paving the way for full-fledged talks on an envisioned third referendum on the plan.

The proposal was passed at the assembly¡¯s plenary meeting Wednesday with majority support, including from regional political party Osaka Ishin no Kai.

Establishing the council will require the approval of both the municipal assembly and the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. Osaka Ishin holds a majority in both assemblies, and its prefectural assembly group has decided to back the proposal.

The council may hold its first meeting as soon as next month if its establishment is greenlit at the prefectural assembly¡¯s plenary meeting next Wednesday.

The metropolis plan is a signature policy of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai, the national political party affiliated with Osaka Ishin. The plan was rejected in two referendums in the city in 2015 and 2020.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, who heads both the JIP and Osaka Ishin, is aiming to hold a third referendum on the same day as the next gubernatorial election, set to be held when his current term expires next spring.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s group in the municipal assembly is poised to refuse to participate in the council, considering the results of the past two referendums.

Yoshimura slammed this stance as a ¡°dereliction of duty,¡± arguing that ¡°if they are opposed (to the metropolis plan), it¡¯s important to engage in debate.¡±

The council will have 20 members ¡ª the governor, the Osaka mayor and nine members each from the prefectural and municipal assemblies. It will discuss how to reorganize the city¡¯s current 24 wards into special wards similar to Tokyo¡¯s and what to name them, as well as how to set the number of seats in ward assemblies.

Once an agreement based on the discussions is approved by the prefectural and municipal assemblies, a local referendum will be held within 60 days of notice to the council.

The municipal assembly also adopted at its plenary meeting a supplementary resolution stipulating that the city will aim to receive designation as Japan¡¯s secondary capital once related legislation is enacted.