Four years ago, comedian and Upper House member "Knock" Yokoyama entered the Osaka gubernatorial race three days before the official campaign started, saying he was angry about the collusion in the non-Communist ruling coalition in the prefectural assembly.
Yokoyama is expected to announce, possibly Friday, whether he will seek re-election in April. It remains to be seen, however, if he still has the same public mandate that won him the post with more with than 1.6 million votes four years ago.
"After the election, Yokoyama broke his pledges. He had vowed to change the closed-door relationship of politicians, bureaucrats and industry, but in the end he only continued such politics," said Nobuyo Fujinaga of Citizens' Network in Osaka.