The official campaign period for the Feb. 8 Osaka gubernatorial election began on Thursday, following the resignation of the previous governor, Hirofumi Yoshimura, in an attempt to revive the so-called Osaka metropolis plan.
Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, and two independents filed their candidacies Thursday.
The 50-year-old former governor hopes that the election will focus on the metropolis plan, which calls for restructuring the city of Osaka, the prefecture’s capital, into special wards.
“A stronger Osaka will strengthen Japan,” Yoshimura said in his first campaign speech. “For this, the metropolis plan is necessary.”
Yoshimura has also said that the metropolis plan is essential for a secondary capital plan included in the coalition agreement between the JIP and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The metropolis plan was rejected by a majority vote in both the 2015 and 2020 local referendums. Aiming to hold a third referendum, Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama, 44, resigned earlier this month to face voter judgment in a double election for governor and mayor.
The Osaka mayoral election will also be held on Feb. 8, as well as a general election.
In the gubernatorial race, 44-year-old company manager Tamotsu Natto and 61-year-old political group co-representative Tsuneki Onishi will challenge Yoshimura. Onishi opposes the metropolis plan, while Natto has indicated his willingness to approve the plan if about 90% of the prefecture’s residents accept it.
