Rise of a new right wing: 61 percent of public hope Osaka mayor’s regional party enters national politics: poll

Over 60 percent of voters hope that a regional party led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto will secure a certain influence on national politics, while the two main political parties are losing support, a Mainichi Shimbun opinion poll has suggested.

The survey suggests that the regional party, the Osaka Restoration Association, is garnering support from a growing number of voters who have been disillusioned by the established political parties.

A total of 61 percent of those surveyed by the Mainichi expressed hope that the Osaka Restoration Association will make its first foray into the national political arena, well above 34 percent who said they do not.

The Osaka Restoration Association intends to field candidates in the upcoming general election for the powerful House of Representatives.

Of those who support the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), 65 percent hope that the regional party will hold seats in the Diet, while 57 percent of those in favor of the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) hope the mayor’s party will enter national politics, against 51 percent of opposition New Komeito supporters.

More than half, or 62 percent, of those who do not support any particular political party hope for the presence of the regional party in the national political arena.

By age, less than half of the pollees in their 20s expressed hope for the association while over 60 percent of respondents in their 30s to 60s place expectations in the organization.

Of the overall pollees, 14 percent said they support the DPJ and 13 percent back the LDP, both three points down from the previous survey in January and the lowest levels since the DPJ took over the reins of government in September 2009.

A total of 54 percent of the respondents support no particular political party, an increase of six points from the previous poll.

The Mainichi surveyed members of 1,555 households in all areas of Japan, excluding those designated as evacuation zones around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, on March 3 and 4. A total of 973 people, or 63 percent, responded.