Tokyo November 1st On the 1st, citizens of Osaka, Japan, voted on whether to support the “Osaka Metropolitan Concept” that “abolish the city of Osaka and merge it into the city of Osaka”.
Statistics show that more than half of the citizens of Osaka who participated in the voting opposed the “abolition of the city of Osaka and its integration into the city of Osaka.”
The “Osaka Metropolis Concept” was rejected again and the city of Osaka would continue to exist.
According to the data released by the Osaka Municipal Election Management Committee that evening, the total number of Osaka citizens who have the right to vote is 2,205,700, and the actual voting rate is 62.35%.
Statistics show that more than half of the citizens who voted opposed “abolishing the city of Osaka and integrating it into the city of Osaka.”
The representative of the Osaka Restoration Council and the Mayor of Osaka Matsui Ichiro stated at a press conference held that evening that he is willing to bear the responsibility for the failure of the “Osaka Metropolitan Concept” again and will withdraw from politics after the mayor’s term ends in 2023.
The “Osaka Metropolitan Concept” intends to follow the example of Tokyo and merge the current 24 jurisdictions of Osaka City into several special districts under the management of Osaka Prefecture
thereby eliminating the dual administrative setup of the prefecture and the city and enhancing economic vitality.
In May 2015, the “Osaka Metropolis Concept” plan to reorganize the city of Osaka into five special districts was rejected in a resident vote, and the then mayor of Osaka Hashishita retired from politics.
On October 12 this year, the Osaka City Election Management Committee issued a “Osaka Metropolitan Concept” resident vote announcement stating that the residents of Osaka City will vote on November 1 on whether they support the abolition of Osaka City in 2025.
The “Osaka Metropolitan Design” plan proposes to abolish the city of Osaka in 5 years and establish four special districts, namely, “Yodogawa District,” “North District,” “Chuo District,” and “Tennoji District.”
According to the “Agreement on the Establishment of Special Districts” approved by Osaka Prefecture and the City of Osaka a few days ago, the special districts will provide residents with education
welfare and other services, and the wide-area administrative functions of the original Osaka City will be transferred to Osaka Prefecture.
