Bowing to long-standing criticism that it must change its name in order to win over more voters, Osaka Ishin no Kai will select a new party name next month.
For an organization based in Japan's traditional business capital, Osaka Ishin officials showed a remarkable lack of marketing savvy, salesmanship and consumer knowledge when it created the national party last year and attempted to sell it to skeptical voters outside the region by rendering Osaka in hiragana instead of kanji. This was intended to differentiate it from the local political group, which has the same name but spells Osaka in kanji.
This version of Osaka Ishin, they insisted, was not a place but a new brand name signifying a political philosophy that emphasized more regional autonomy, more efficient local government and a more prosperous local economy.
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