The first presidential election of opposition party Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) has deteriorated into a bitter battleground of complaints directed mainly at the current leadership.
Three candidates on Aug. 14 entered the first leadership election of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), a rising opposition party that suffered a setback in last month’s Upper House election.
Nippon Ishin (Japan Renovation Party), the dominant force in Osaka’s political scene, held two municipal referendums on its signature initiative to turn the Osaka area into a bustling metropolis like Tokyo. Both the Osaka governor and Osaka mayor are members of the party, which holds a majority in the prefectural assembly through its local arm. It held a second referendum on the proposal after it was rejected in the first vote.
Yoshimi Watanabe, the former head of the now-defunct Your Party and a former Cabinet minister, announced on June 21 that he will not run in the upcoming Upper House election and will retire from politics.