The Ishin Party’s influence in Kansai is fading．．． it continues to struggle in local elections amid criticism of the World Expo and issues surrounding the Hyogo governor Yomiuri ．
The Japan Restoration Party is showing signs of waning momentum in its Kansai base. In addition to criticism of the increase in construction costs for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, which the party is promoting, the move is also due to the issue of Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito, whom the party helped win his first election in the 2021 gubernatorial election, having been exposed as having been accused of power harassment by an internal whistleblower. There are also concerns within the party about the impact this will have on the next House of Representatives election. “We must take this seriously,” Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama (Secretary-General of the local political party, Osaka Restoration Party) said to a group of reporters at City Hall on the 1st in response to the defeat of the party’s official candidate to a newcomer from a different party in the Osaka Prefectural Assembly by-election (Kawachinagano City electoral district, one vacancy) held on July 28th. He cited criticism of the Expo and allegations against Saito as reasons for the party’s defeat in his hometown, Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi, who is co-leader of the party. The cost of constructing the Expo site has ballooned to a maximum of 235 billion yen, nearly double the amount originally estimated, dealing a blow to the party, which has pledged to implement “painful reforms.” Regarding Saito, who became the first governor from the Osaka Restoration Party outside of Osaka, while other parties, including the LDP, which also recommended him, are calling for his resignation, some are pointing out that the party is taking a wait-and-see approach, saying “it is necessary to clarify the facts” (Representative Baba), and is hesitant to pursue further issues. Perhaps due to these influences, the party has recently been struggling in local elections in the Kansai region. In April, he lost the mayoral election in Daito City, Osaka Prefecture, his hometown, and in the Kawachinagano mayoral election, which was announced in June, he was defeated by a former LDP prefectural assembly member. In July, he lost to the LDP candidate in a Kyoto City Council by-election (Nakagyo Ward constituency, one vacancy) following the resignation of a Osaka Restoration Party member. With the House of Representatives election approaching, the party is particularly concerned about Hyogo in the Kansai region, where allegations against Saito have been shaken. In the 2021 House of Representatives election, the party came in first in the prefecture’s proportional vote count, receiving approximately 780,000 votes, more than the LDP. It has become the second largest base after Osaka, maintaining its top position in the 2022 House of Councillors election. Saito is scheduled to be questioned as a witness at the Prefectural Assembly’s Article 100 Committee on the 30th of this month, and party officials are worried, saying, “If we cannot clear up the suspicions, it will be a major blow to the party.” In an effort to overcome this difficult situation, about 100 members of the party’s parliament visited Yumeshima (Konohana Ward, Osaka City), the Expo site, on the 5th. Representative Baba said, “We will defeat the negative messages about the Expo,” and called on his colleagues to use social media to build momentum for the event. On the same day, Yoshimura told reporters at the prefectural office that “it all comes down to doing thorough, steady work in my local area” in preparation for the next House of Representatives election. Yomiuri Shimbun 2024/08/06 07:54.
>>1 In an attempt to overcome this difficult situation, about 100 members of the Diet visited Yumeshima (Konohana Ward, Osaka City), the site of the Expo, on the 5th. No matter how you look at it, this is counterproductive. Don’t let everyone come here in droves and waste public funds.
The reason why Ishin grew was because local TV stations pushed them so hard, right? For example, if there are people you know who live in your neighborhood and people you don’t know, you vote for the person you know in your neighborhood. The local media put Ishin politicians on TV so hard that they were perceived as people you know who live in your neighborhood, and that’s why they grew.
>>35 From Tokyo’s perspective, they just couldn’t understand the popularity of the Restoration Party, so they were forcing the blame on the media. In reality, he is only popular because he has eliminated amakudari and affiliated organizations, increased support for children’s education, implemented school lunches in junior high schools, and supported the current working parenting generation.
>>35 If you don’t push hard, your followers will attack you. They’re just like the Red Guards. >>49 The people who were greedily taking advantage of the profits in the LDP and their children who inherited the profits from the government just changed the name to monopolise the profits for themselves.
>>35 Exactly. Hashimoto himself is a TV poster child, and past Ishin leaders have appeared on TV like celebrities, so it’s a no-brainer for the stupid Osaka people.
>>35 I have the impression that people from areas that don’t watch Kansai local TV often say this, but mbs and abc were clearly anti-Ishin especially mbs, which was blatantly anti-Ishin Yomiuri seemed to have pro-Ishin and anti-Ishin factions within the station Kansai TV Osaka didn’t really seem to lean towards either side.
Even though they were generous with the Olympics, there are people who like to complain when it’s held anywhere other than Tokyo. Yokohama is going to have the World Expo too.
The next election won’t change anything. It’s because everyone except the Ishin Party is so terrible. You stupid, condescending leftists and right-wingers are getting cocky and the public is shocked. That’s what we learned from the Tokyo gubernatorial election.
If you think you can erase the Restoration by burning down the Expo, Matsu-chan, Johnny’s, and Takarazuka, you’re being arrogant. You’re the ones who are trashing and criticizing and trampling on the delicate receptacles of the common people’s hearts. If you think the public will vote for you without putting an R sticker on them, you’ll get badly burned.
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