Hang on. Haven't we seen this movie before?
That's the question Osaka voters could be forgiven for asking, following the Friday meeting with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and their opponents that degenerated into name-calling and ended with no progress on an agreement to integrate Osaka administratively.
The meeting came just over two months after Hashimoto's first effort to merge the city's 24 wards into five semi-autonomous wards, which was opposed by all other established parties and rejected (just barely) by municipal voters.