Cabinet’s support slips to 26.3%; Osaka Mayor’s group ranks second with 17.6 percent support

The support rate for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Cabinet has slipped to 26.3 percent from 27.9 percent in August, a public opinion poll said Sunday.

The poll also said that the Cabinet’s disapproval rating climbed to 59.4 percent from 59.0 percent last month.

Meanwhile, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s political group, which is planning to set up a new party to compete in the Lower House election, now ranks second in terms of voting intentions for the proportional representation portion of the race, with 17.6 percent support, behind the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party.

According to the poll, conducted Saturday and Sunday, this is the first time Hashimoto’s group has polled higher than the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which garnered a support rate of 12.4 percent. The LDP’s support rate stood at 22.2 percent.

Kyodo, Sep. 3, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120903a2.html

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 Hashimoto holds forum to discuss on campaign promises

OSAKA – Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, regarded as one of the most influential figures in Japanese politics, started Sunday to sift through candidates for a political party that he plans to set up.

Hashimoto’s group, whose name will be Nippon Ishin no Kai (Nippon Restoration Association), invited incumbent lawmakers and several local leaders to an open forum the same day to discuss its campaign promises for the next House of Representatives election.

The forum was apparently aimed at fending off criticism that the party could be composed of politicians who merely want to win in the next general election by capitalizing on Hashimoto’s popularity, political analysts said.

In a Kyodo News poll earlier this month, Hashimoto’s group secured more support than the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, headed by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in answer to a question about voting intentions for the proportional representation block.

The group’s pledges, titled “Ishin Hassaku” (eight policies for restoring the country), include halving the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament and joining talks on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.

“I’d like to confirm whether we are sharing the same values,” agreeing with the principles and basic policies stipulated under the “Ishin Hassaku,” Hashimoto said during the forum, which was held in Osaka.

Among those who attended the forum were former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru, former Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakada and Hiroshi Yamada, former mayor of Tokyo’s Suginami Ward, whom Hashimoto’s group wants to field as a candidate in the next general election.

Seven incumbent lawmakers, including former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yorihisa Matsuno, a DPJ lower house member, and Kenta Matsunami, a lower house member of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, also participated in the gathering.

Nuclear power, fiscal and monetary policies as well as diplomatic matters were discussed on Sunday in the forum, which lasted for around five hours, but the debate did not heat up as the members hoping to join Hashimoto’s party did not show clear opposition to his views.

A DPJ lawmaker lambasted Hashimoto on Saturday, saying the-43-year-old mayor held the forum for “political grandstanding.”

Hashimoto said his group, which is currently composed of local politicians such as mayors and assembly members, plans to hold similar open forums several times down the road.

The Osaka mayor declared on Saturday his bid to shake up national politics. Hashimoto, however, has expressed reluctance to run himself in the next lower house election, saying he will lead the party while maintaining his mayoral post.

Hashimoto established Osaka Ishin no Kai in April last year. Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui serves as its secretary general and more than 100 prefectural and municipal assembly members in Osaka Prefecture are part of the group.

Speculation is growing that at the next general election, no political group will secure a majority in the lower house, and many parties will struggle to create a new coalition framework.

Hashimoto’s envisioned party, which will aim for a majority in the lower chamber, would become part of a coalition government after the general election, political pundits said.

Kyodo, Sep. 10, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120910a4.html

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New-right-wing Osaka mayor: Bureaucrats attend Hashimoto school despite local ban

OSAKA – About 20 central and local government officials have attended the political school established by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto.

So far, about 880 participants have attended events at Ishin Seiji Juku (Political Restoration School), including officials from the Finance Ministry, the land ministry and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, sources said.

Municipal officials from outside Osaka also have attended the school’s lectures and discussion sessions with academics and other guests, they added.

Critics are accusing Hashimoto of having a double standard for curbing the political activities of Osaka employees while allowing other public servants to take part in Ishin Seiji Juku.

In July, Osaka’s municipal assembly passed an ordinance submitted by Hashimoto that in principle allows the mayor to take disciplinary action against municipal workers if they engage in any political activities.

Hashimoto’s Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) party launched the political school to groom future leaders able to reform traditional bureaucratic structures. Some of those trained at the facility are scheduled to take to the streets and deliver stump speeches in mid-September.

Kyodo, Aug. 19, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120819a6.html

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Hashimoto group to seek party status

OSAKA – Popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s regional political group plans to win legal party status before the next Lower House election, a senior member of the group said.

The group, Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), will also bolster its ranks by adding at least five Diet members, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, secretary general of the group, said at a news conference Wednesday.

Another senior member said the group will ask lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and opposition parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party and Your Party, to join.

The group has about 100 members, including members of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly, but no Diet members.

Jiji, Aug. 3, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120803b4.html

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 Osaka mayor eyes political realignment, hints at tie-up with Noda

OSAKA (Kyodo) — Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who also leads a political group in the western Japan city, said Tuesday he is expecting a national political realignment to take place and suggested the possibility of a tie-up between his group and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s ruling party.

The mayor told reporters at Osaka city hall that he believes the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan led by Noda will likely reorganize in the near future. “If politicians rally together for the premier, they will form a very strong administration,” he said.

“There are many rank-and-file LDP members who share the premier’s vision. If they join forces and create a new group, it would gain a high approval rating,” Hashimoto said.

The mayor also said Noda’s basic ideas, such as introducing a system for the direct election of the prime minister and accelerating decentralization to give more power to regions, are shared by his political group called “Osaka Ishin no Kai” (Osaka restoration group).

Hashimoto had been rather critical of Noda’s political skills but spoke highly of the premier Tuesday, saying he “has steadfastly made (important political) decisions.”

Noda’s plan to double the nation’s consumption tax rate from the current 5 percent has led to the recent departure of former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa and his allies from the ruling party.

The Osaka mayor has expressed his readiness to enter national politics, suggesting his group would field candidates in the next general election that Noda could call at any time.

Kyodo Press, July 11, 2012
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120711p2g00m0dm031000c.html

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