Osaka mayor Ichiro Matsui offers to take in tainted Fukushima water and dump it into Osaka Bay
Ichiro Matsui, the mayor of Osaka and head of Nippon Ishin no Kai, said Tuesday that water tainted by radioactive tritium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant could — if proven environmentally safe — be sent to Osaka and dumped into Osaka ...
Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito flip-flop on Osaka merger
Just over a month after local elections in which Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) surprised even itself with resounding victories, the established parties' local chapters appear to be on the ropes. Earlier this month, Komeito, which had long partnered with Osaka Ishin to form ...
Osaka's mayor intends to call referendum on metropolis plan in fall of 2020
Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui said Saturday he wants to hold a referendum around the fall of 2020 on whether to restructure the city into a metropolis like Tokyo in a bid to cut governance costs. The "Osaka metropolis" plan was rejected in a referendum in ...
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 ...
LDP picks former assemblyman Yanagimoto to take on Osaka Ishin's Ichiro Matsui in mayoral race
Former Osaka municipal assemblyman Akira Yanagimoto of the Liberal Democratic Party has been tapped to run against Ichiro Matsui, the governor of Osaka Prefecture and head of Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), in next month's Osaka mayoral race, with the focus on whether ...
Ex-Vice Gov. Konishi tapped by LDP to run for Osaka governor after actor Takuro Tatsumi says no
After a frantic scramble, local political and business leaders remain concerned about who will support him.
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.
