Osaka Metropolis Plan: Sense of Unease Lingers over JIP’s ‘Bizarre Ploy’

Editorial

14:32 JST, June 4, 2026

What exactly did the two referendums demonstrate that the will of the people was? It is hard to understand why Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura is once again attempting to push ahead with the so-called Osaka metropolis plan.

Moreover, isn’t it a bit too opportunistic to try to put the plan to a vote among all prefectural residents just because the referendums targeting the citizens of Osaka City failed?

The Osaka prefectural and Osaka city assemblies have each passed a bill to establish a statutory council to discuss specific proposals for the metropolis plan. This move was led by the assembly members of the regional party Osaka Ishin in response to a call from Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin) and a proponent of the plan.

Under the Osaka metropolis plan, Osaka City would be abolished by being divided into special wards similar to Tokyo’s 23 wards. Broad administrative functions, such as urban development, would be centralized under the prefecture, while the wards would handle tasks closer to their residents’ daily lives. The aim is reportedly to rectify the overlapping of administrative functions between the prefectural and city governments.

To achieve this goal, proposals defining ward boundaries, authority and other matters must be decided at the statutory council based on the law on the establishment of special wards in metropolitan areas. These proposals must then be approved by both the prefectural and city assemblies and achieve a majority vote in a referendum of the citizens of Osaka City.

However, as the plan was rejected in referendums held in 2015 and 2020, the JIP is seeking to take steps by leveraging its position as a ruling party in this third attempt. The party has incorporated provisions favorable to the realization of the metropolis plan into a draft bill to establish a second capital, which is separate from the metropolis plan.

Specifically, the provisions stipulate that a prefecture to be designated as a second capital may change its prefectural suffix to “to” (metropolis) if it establishes special wards. They also stipulate that the required referendum on this matter must be conducted among all prefectural residents, asking them to vote on both the change to “metropolis” and the establishment of special wards as a single package.

The JIP appears to consider that residents outside Osaka City will be less resistant to the city’s division and more likely to vote in favor, and it thus wishes to revise the law to make a referendum targeting all prefectural residents possible.

However, this approach of using a separate issue as a vehicle to realize their long-cherished metropolis plan can only be described as a bizarre ploy.

Under the draft bill as it stands, residents of cities such as Sakai and Kishiwada would also be supposed to cast their vote on the abolition of Osaka City. Many people would likely find this unsettling.

After the second referendum was rejected, Yoshimura stated, “I won’t attempt to push ahead with the metropolis plan again.”

Nevertheless, he has set his sights on another referendum after resigning as Osaka governor in January this year and then winning a fresh gubernatorial election with the metropolis plan as one of his election pledges again.

The two previous referendums each cost over ¥1 billion. If referendums are repeated over and over again, won’t the JIP eventually lose the trust of the prefecture’s residents?

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 4, 2026)