OSAKA — The three main candidates in the race for the Jan. 27 Osaka gubernatorial election, which officially kicked off Thursday, have different positions on various policy issues, particularly on education, financial reform and the future of Kansai airport.
On education, Toru Hashimoto, a 38-year-old lawyer and TV celebrity backed by the Osaka chapters of the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, favors emphasizing interpersonal relationships between students and teachers, and the importance of respecting group norms. He supports specialized education for students interested in sports or the arts, and indicated he favors establishing classes for academically gifted students.
Sadatoshi Kumagai, 63, a former Osaka University engineering professor with the backing of the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties, has a "back to basics" approach to education, with an emphasis on making reading, writing and arithmetic more interesting and pleasurable. He believes this is needed to create a future workforce capable of supporting Japanese society. Kumagai favors more cooperation between schools and the business community.