No stranger to making headlines and raising eyebrows in politics, the fiery Toru Hashimoto did it again on July 4.
The Osaka mayor, leader of the Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) local lawmaker group and founder of the whole Ishin movement told nearly 100 members of Osaka Ishin at a closed meeting: "I'm always ready to create a national party in Kansai."
That was followed by reports that the new "Kansai Ishin" party will be launched sometime in September — just a couple of weeks before the end of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Speculation has grown as to whether Abe will win another term, and thus remain prime minister, or whether he will be replaced.