OSAKA — Sunday's local elections produced mixed results for Kansai's populist politics, with Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto's political group securing a majority in the prefectural assembly but falling short of a majority in the municipal assembly.
Hashimoto's efforts to unseat Nara Gov. Shogo Arai also failed.
The final results showed elements of Hashimoto's One Osaka, or the Osaka Restoration Party, winning 57 of the prefectural assembly's 109 seats but only 33 of the municipal assembly's 86, 11 short of a majority. Without a majority in the city assembly, Hashimoto's efforts to merge Osaka's municipal and prefectural administrations are expected to grind to a halt.