On the 12th, a referendum on abolishing the current Osaka City and reorganizing it into four special wards will be announced.
The so-called "Osaka Metropolis Plan" calls for abolishing Osaka City and reorganizing it into four special wards (Yodogawa, Kita, Chuo and Tennoji Wards), the same as the 23 wards of Tokyo, on January 1, 2022.
More than 2.2 million voters in Osaka City will vote for or against the proposal in a referendum.
The vote will be held on the first of next month, and regardless of the percentage of votes cast, if there is a majority in favor of the measure, it will be approved, and Osaka City will be abolished and special wards will be created.
If a majority of those opposed to the proposal vote are in favor, the vote will be rejected, and Osaka City will continue to exist as it is today.
Five years ago in May 2015, a referendum was held on a different plan to reorganize the city into five special wards, and the referendum was overwhelmingly against, and then-Mayor Hashimoto announced his intention to retire from politics.
The pro- and anti-liberation parties are expected to begin working in earnest on 12 in preparation for next month's ballot, which is set to begin on November 1.
