politics

Hashimoto plans to form new party in October

20 Comments

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who quit the Japan Innovation Party with co-founder and Osaka Gov Ichiro Matsui last week over differences with the current leadership, told supporters over the weekend that he plans to form a new party based in Osaka.

Hashimoto will step down as Osaka mayor after his term expires in December. However, he said he wants to turn the Osaka Restoration Party into a national force that can make a strong challenge in next summer's upper house elections, Fuji TV reported Sunday.

Hashimoto said he will not run as a candidate and added that this would be his last job in politics.

Hashimoto said he did not want to bring about the demise of the Japan Innovation Party. Nevertheless, Japanese media have speculated that some of the Japan Innovation Party's Diet members (40 in the lower house and 11 in the upper house) may jump ship to join Hashimoto's new party.

Hashimoto said the first big test will be whether Osaka Restoration Party candidates can win the Osaka mayoral and gubernatorial elections on Nov 22.

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20 Comments
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This tool already said he was going to quit politics after losing the Osaka referendum. Still, when did a politician ever keep his word?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

About as useful as a Tupperware party, oh, hang on, they are useful. As least politics here provides some laughs.

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I thought he said he was going to quit but I am glad he is not because I like his political views, including joint ownership of both territorial disputed islands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dru_Hashimoto#Political_Views and as far as I know he is one of the few politicians that wants to cut spending rather than print more pork.

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Its impossible to take J politics seriously. Quit then decide not to. Quit one party start a new one. Just fun and games. And we foot the bill. Disgusting

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

What a political circus.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This is beyond pathetic! This guys a dolt, a liar & has no redeemable qualities.....

this guy is going to continue to wreck havoc on Japan, nothing goods going to come of this twits adventures!

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Hashimoto said he will not run as a candidate and added that this would be his last job in politics.

BS, In other publications it has been stated that he is looking at running for a Diet position. He is full of guano and no one should trust what he says. He is trying to make himself into the "kingpin" and let the "people" choose for him.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

New party, nice! Can i come too?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So he is back out of retirement before he had got into it! What a surprise. Surely there are some inane TV programmes he could go back on and stop pretending to be a serious politician.

However, he is right about minimizing the levels of local government, and he did give that racist lunatic a hard time over the hate speech matter. So not 100% negative.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I'm sure everyone saw this coming, after their merger with Yui-No-Tou the party was totally split into 2 camps. A - Right leaning Osaka reformers who needed MoPs to get the required bills past in parliament. B- Left leaning washed up MoPs who would do anything to keep their MoP status and benefits. A sympathizers will probably go back to Hashimoto, while B will most definitely go re-join Okada and the DPJ. After the failed mergers with Taiyo, Minnna, and Yui, I would think fringe parties learn their lessons and quit hooking up with people/parties they can't relate to just to bolster their numbers and prowess.

@fx gai Right, Hashimoto himself was/is the CEO of a law firm (part time TV Tarento) prior to going into politics too. SIJ - Whats ridiculous is making blanketed claims that are totally un-informed or mis-informed. Remember when you claimed that there were famous politicians who OPENLY called for war against S. Korea?

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And all of THEM are also drop outs from a dozen other failed new parties.

Some of them come from the business world, actually, not the political world. This is precisely what Japanese politics (and probably politics anywhere) needs.

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He could call it the aligned with Abe party or the Not a lot of choice party.

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I'm glad to see he's said that it will be his last job in politics, seeming to stick to his promise. But I'm skeptical. I really can see him saying, in October, that he "can't quit because he needs to strengthen the new party and guide its leadership", etc. The usual excuse. As for The Innovation Party members jumping ship for this new party, how will it therefore be any different? And all of THEM are also drop outs from a dozen other failed new parties. It's ridiculous.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

As I have posted on numerous occasions, politicians in this country remind me of Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome) because once they affix their lips to the teats of public largesse, it is impossible to remove them.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Call it the "Economic Reform" Party, or "Anti-vested interests" party.

I imagine a lot of the Japan Innovation party members will jump to the new party.

Hooking up with the DPJ, as some of them seem to be thinking, is a backwards step for some of them, who left DPJ for Hashimoto's party in the first place.

Who knows what the DPJ's basic political philosophies are. It's a party for the left-overs, who aren't big government LDP nor extreme leftist commies.

The Japan Innovation party was supposed to be the small government party. I think the new party can attract a significant amount of votes if they stay on message (not Hashimoto's strong point perhaps).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How about calling the next one 'The Japan Renovation Party'.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Hashimoto is not as bad as Ishihara. Ishihara has zero redeeming qualities, he's bad all the way through. Hashimoto has his bad points, but he also has some good ones.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

PFff, this guy is like Ishihara 2.0. He will quit when he is 105 years old!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Will it be the Slightly Silly Party of Japan?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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