Tensions between the Osaka chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party and senior LDP officials are rising after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday met with Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, who is running against an LDP candidate in next month's polls.
The local chapter is concerned over how the meeting will be perceived and how it will affect voters going into the mayoral and gubernatorial elections.
Although the meeting's official purpose was to discuss central government aid to Osaka in the event of an earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast, it took place the same day Matsui's main opponent in the Nov. 22 poll, Takako Kurihara, announced her policy platform.