OSAKA — After six months on the job, Osaka Pref. Gov. Toru Hashimoto will take his first extended vacation during the Bon holiday in mid-August.
The popular Hashimoto, who assumed office Feb. 6, becoming at 38 Japan's youngest governor, takes his holiday after getting the fiscal 2008 budget passed last month. But he is already looking ahead to autumn, when two issues far more controversial and complex than the budget are expected to dominate his political agenda.
The first is the recently announced flight cutbacks at Kansai International Airport, which have been blamed on high fuel costs and slumping demand, and competition from nearby Itami and Kobe airports.