has abstract
| - Politics of Osaka, as in all 47 prefectures of Japan, takes place in the framework of local autonomy that is guaranteed by chapter 8 of the Constitution and laid out in the Local Autonomy Law. The administration is headed by a governor directly elected by the people every four years in first-past-the-post elections. Legislation, the budget and the approval of personnel appointments, including the vice governors, are handled by the prefectural assembly that is directly elected by the people every four years by single-non transferable vote. Political debate in Osaka has in recent years been dominated by the Osaka Metropolis plan, a plan to transform Osaka – similarly to Tokyo – into a to, a metropolitan prefecture in which Osaka city, Sakai city and possibly other municipalities of Ōsaka are dissolved and subdivided into special wards like those of Tokyo city. The main proponent of the plan is the Osaka Restoration Association (Ōsaka Ishin no Kai, lit. "Osaka renewal assembly") of former governor and current Osaka city mayor Tōru Hashimoto; by 2012, the party controls the governorship, a majority in the Osaka assembly, and several municipal institutions including the Osaka city mayor and Osaka city assembly. Osaka is one of the most urbanized and economically developed prefectures; with a fiscal strength index of around 0.8 its fiscal strength is well above the national average; but unlike Tokyo and Aichi which have fiscal strength indices above 1, Osaka is not able to fully cover its budget with prefectural revenues. (en)
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