Osaka Mayor calls for realignment of opposition parties

Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of the opposition Japan Restoration Party (JRP) and the Mayor of Osaka, argued Tuesday that there is a need for a realignment of the opposition political parties to serve as a counterweight to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) by the next national election, which is expected in 2016, local press reported. Hashimoto made the statement, his first since Sunday's Upper House election, at Osaka City Hall on Tuesday. There he noted he is absolutely sure that people in Japan want a new opposition force to take over the role of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which suffered a defeat of historic proportions, according to Kyodo News Agency. Hashimoto said that parties such as his JRP, Your Party and the DPJ need to form a new party while removing the "opposition" label as early as possible, preferably before the next House of Representatives election, the report said. Answering questions on his course of action after the election, meanwhile, Hashimoto only said to reporters that he would merely follow the decision of a party directors' meeting scheduled for the weekend on whether or not he should step down from his post as co-leader. In the election, the JRP could gain only 8 of the 121 seats contested, short of the minimum of 10 required for a party to introduce a draft bill in the Diet. Looking at Sunday's final results, Shintaro Ishihara, the JRP's other co-leader, denied that Hashimoto may resign, while Hashimoto admitted that the party's performance in the election was unsatisfactory.