Osaka mayor: Not intent to apologize to his party

Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka and co-leader of the opposition Japan Restoration Party (JRP), stated on Wednesday that he has no intention to retract his remarks in face of criticism levied by the other JRP co-leader, Shintaro Ishihara, local press reported on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Ishihara criticized Hashimoto on various occasions, including in an interview with a local news agency and a board meeting attended by the party's lawmakers. He said that Hashimoto has caused the party "a great deal of trouble" and should apologize to the party and its members because the JRP is now losing public support since Hashimoto's remarks on the "comfort women" in May. Ishihara made the statement to avoid further damage to the JRP ahead of the upcoming House of Councillors election. The interview report added that the mayor may need to resign as the party's co- leader, depending on the election results. On Wednesday, in response to Ishihara's comments, the mayor told reporters in his office that he did not do anything wrong and stressed that he would not apologize or retract his comments about his ideas, according to the daily Mainichi Shimbun. The report also revealed that Ishihara had suggested to Hashimoto that he clarify his views to voters on TV, but the mayor declined to do so. Local media have recently given a stronger impression that differences between the JPR's two leaders are widening to an irreconcilable level and will hurt the party's performance in the election this summer.