Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was facing a critical battle. And he lost.
On Sunday, a candidate fielded by Nippon Ishin lost a local government election for the first time in Osaka Prefecture, the power base for both Hashimoto and his party.
The result could mean the end of Hashimoto's main policy goal of merging key cities in Osaka Prefecture into a single administrative entity. Sunday's winner, Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama, is openly and staunchly opposed to the idea. Sakai is one of the cities that would be merged under Hashimoto's grand plan, which aims to give Osaka the same administrative status as Tokyo.