The breakup of Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) and the announcement by party co-founder Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto that he plans to launch a new party with at least a dozen Osaka-area Diet members once again exposes the deep rift between his Osaka followers and his detractors, many of whom are from outside the region.
But it also creates questions about how the wily Hashimoto, who still says he plans to retire from politics in December, might utilize the new party in advance of next summer's Upper House election.
As of Tuesday, a dozen Diet members from the Osaka area had agreed to exit Ishin and join him next month when he forms another "startup" political party. This is taking place three years after he formed his first national political party, which tied up with former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and his Tokyo followers, and then, when that relationship fell apart, with Yokohama-based Kenji Eda and his small Unity Party.