Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after finishing as Osaka mayor, Toru Hashimoto met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Dec. 19.
The purpose was to exchange views on security and diplomatic issues — areas Hashimoto knows little about but has lots of opinions on — and constitutional revisions, a goal both men share.
The question for Abe now is how to best use Hashimoto to help achieve constitutional changes. The question for Hashimoto, though, is what's next? Local pundits and journalists, as well as various political aids in non-Ishin parties, are predicting four basic scenarios.