Major issues loom as Kansai looks ahead to the new year
It was a busy 2019 for Kansai, particularly in the days leading up to the June Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka. While the Tokyo Olympics will be the focus of much of the nation's attention in 2020, here are some major issues ...
Tight security expected for G20 summit in Osaka, with no lockers or trash cans at stations
Osaka will be put under tight security during the Group of 20 summit in late June as local authorities plan to suspend the use of trash cans and coin lockers at stations and limit road traffic as a preventive measure against terrorism. From June 24 ...
Osaka Ishin now firmly in control across prefecture, piling pressure on Komeito to back merger
Osaka Ishin has long championed the reform plan while Komeito, along with the LDP, have opposed it.
Osaka leaders win in elections to swap roles, but merger prospects unclear
Osaka voters appear to have done little to shift the political landscape from where it was before polls opened Sunday.
Osaka wrestles with merger plan as campaign for governor kicks off
To merge or not to merge? That is the question Osaka hopes to finally answer as the campaign for Osaka governor kicked off Thursday morning.
In Osaka, leaders' bid to swap seats could spell trouble as region faces global spotlight
When Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and his sidekick, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, announced they would resign their positions to run for each other's seats next month, local reactions ranged from disbelief to exasperation. Osaka politics has always been, to put it politely, different from more ...
Actor Takuro Tatsumi asked again by LDP to run in Osaka gubernatorial election
Actor Takuro Tatsumi has been asked again by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to run in next month's Osaka gubernatorial election, sources familiar with the situation said Sunday. A senior member of the party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with the 60-year-old Osaka ...
Osaka's governor-mayor duo quit in audacious bid to swap posts in name of merger referendum quest
Frustrated by their failure to merge Osaka's wards, Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura shock political circles by quitting to run for each other’s positions next month.
As host of this year's Group of 20 leaders' summit, a key official said Monday that Japan's most important task will be to chair a gathering that concludes with a strong message promoting stable worldwide economic growth. The June 28-29 conference is expected to be ...
Osaka mayor and governor may quit to force early poll in bid to realize dream of metro government
The proposal to reorganize the government had already been put to a municipal referendum in 2015 but was rejected by voters.
Time running out for Osaka leaders seeking to push city-prefecture integration plan
When Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura left for Paris early last week for one final lobbying effort for the 2025 World Expo, they left behind a city and prefecture that remain deeply divided over their most basic political goal — ...
