Could Osaka be Japan’s second capital? Takaichi appears to demur on ally’s plan
A key demand of the Japan Innovation Party in its alliance with the Liberal Democratic Party is for Osaka to be Tokyo’s backup capital
One of the key demands of the JIP was that Osaka should be officially elevated in status to the nation’s “second capital”, with additional infrastructure for the city to enable it to become the seat of government in the event of a natural disaster crippling Tokyo.
Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka prefecture since 2019 and head of the JIP for nearly a year, emerged from a meeting with senior LDP leaders in October and declared that Takaichi had said she would be “willing to work” with him on the “second capital” plan.
While the two parties have begun discussions on the idea and there are vague suggestions on how to turn Osaka into Japan’s second capital, the JIP is doing all the running. And questions about the feasibility – and desirability – of the plan are quietly being asked.
With Takaichi cemented now as prime minister, she appears to have gone cool on the idea, according to analysts.