2015 Osaka Metropolis Plan referendum

A referendum on the implementation of the Osaka Metropolis Plan was held in Osaka on 17 May 2015. In the event of a "yes" vote, the wards in Osaka City would be reorganized into special wards similar to those in Tokyo. The proposal was defeated by a slim margin of 10,741 votes (0.76%).^[1]

Osaka Metropolis Plan referendum

17 May 2015 (2015-05-17)
Referendum on the implementation of the Osaka Metropolis plan
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 694,844 49.62% No 705,585 50.38% Valid votes 1,400,429 99.60% Invalid or blank votes 5,655 0.40% Total votes 1,406,084 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 2,104,076 66.83%
Result by ward.   Yes   No

A rerun referendum in 2020 was defeated by a similar margin.

Results

50.4% voted against the proposal.^[2] 13 out of 24 Osaka wards voted "no".

Interest on the referendum was particularly high. The turnout of 66.83% is 5.91% higher than the turnout in the 2011 mayoral and gubernatorial election.^[1]

Totals

Referendum results

Choice	Votes	%
No	705,585	50.38
Yes	694,844	49.62
Valid votes	1,400,429	99.60
Invalid or blank votes	5,655	0.40
Total votes	1,406,084	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,104,076	66.83
Source: Osaka City Electoral Commission

By wards

Ward	Electorate	Votes for	Votes against	For(%)	Against(%)	Valid votes	Invalid votes	Total	Turnout(%)	Proposed special ward
Kita-ku	94,128	36,019	25,001	59.0%	41.0%	61,020	228	61,248	65.1%	Kita-ku
Miyakojima-ku	82,237	30,135	26,671	53.0%	47.0%	56,806	205	57,011	69.3%
Fukushima-ku	56,798	21,586	17,267	55.6%	44.4%	38,853	131	38,984	68.6%
Konohana-ku	54,470	17,597	18,872	48.3%	51.7%	36,469	137	36,606	67.2%	Wangan-ku
Chūō-ku	71,819	24,336	20,657	54.1%	45.9%	44,993	164	45,157	62.9%	Chūō-ku
Nishi-ku	70,287	26,094	19,160	57.7%	42.3%	45,254	162	45,416	64.6%
Minato-ku	66,673	21,410	23,351	47.8%	52.2%	44,761	172	44,933	67.4%	Wangan-ku
Taishō-ku	55,159	16,646	21,211	44.0%	56.0%	37,857	131	37,988	68.9%
Tennōji-ku	54,774	18,327	20,815	46.8%	53.2%	39,142	174	39,316	71.8%	Chūō-ku
Naniwa-ku	48,936	13,563	12,189	52.7%	47.3%	25,752	98	25,850	52.8%
Nishiyodogawa-ku	75,827	23,670	28,337	45.5%	54.5%	52,007	179	52,186	68.8%	Wangan-ku
Yodogawa-ku	138,515	48,566	38,903	55.5%	44.5%	87,469	379	87,848	63.4%	Kita-ku
Higashiyodogawa-ku	136,353	43,388	41,340	51.2%	48.8%	84,728	336	85,064	62.4%
Higashinari-ku	61,085	20,689	20,667	50.0%	50.0%	41,356	194	41,550	68.0%	Higashi-ku
Ikuno-ku	83,886	25,396	29,190	46.5%	53.5%	54,586	236	54,822	65.4%
Asahi-ku	74,371	23,145	28,048	45.2%	54.8%	51,193	209	51,402	69.1%
Jōtō-ku	132,091	46,728	45,784	50.5%	49.5%	92,512	338	92,850	70.3%
Tsurumi-ku	85,852	29,859	29,752	50.1%	49.9%	59,611	222	59,833	69.7%
Abeno-ku	85,354	30,434	32,446	48.4%	51.6%	62,880	254	63,134	74.0%	Minami-ku
Suminoe-ku	100,867	33,184	36,880	47.4%	52.6%	70,064	250	70,314	69.7%	Minami-ku/Wangan-ku
Sumiyoshi-ku	123,549	38,623	45,950	45.7%	54.3%	84,573	373	84,946	68.8%	Minami-ku
Higashisumiyoshi-ku	105,456	34,079	37,322	47.7%	52.3%	71,401	363	71,764	68.1%
Hirano-ku	155,527	46,072	56,959	44.7%	55.3%	103,031	487	103,518	66.6%
Nishinari-ku	90,062	25,298	28,813	46.8%	53.2%	54,111	233	54,344	60.3%	Chūō-ku
Osaka City	2,104,076	694,844	705,585	49.62%	50.38%	1,400,429	5,655	1,406,084	66.83%

Reactions to the result

After the defeat of the plan he had championed in the previous five years, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto announced that he would retire from politics once his term expired in December 2015.^[2][3] A major shakeup also occurred in Hashimoto's Japan Innovation Party, with the leader Kenji Eda and secretary-general Yorihisa Matsuno both announcing their resignation from their posts after the defeat.^[1]

The referendum outcome was perceived as a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had supported the plan despite opposition from the Osaka branch of his Liberal Democratic Party, hoping that the Innovation Party would in turn support his efforts to amend the Constitution.^[4][5]