Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's political fortunes in and out of Osaka continue to rise, as a growing number of local- and national-level politicians seek his cooperation to form what could well be the ruling coalition after the next Lower House election.
But key policy differences mean a group of local-level parties taking control of national politics is far from certain.
Since Hashimoto and his ally, Ichiro Matsui, won the mayoral and gubernatorial elections in November, the mayor and his local group, Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), have moved quickly to shore up existing alliances and lay plans for fielding or supporting up to 300 candidates in the next Lower House election.