2026 Osaka gubernatorial election

2026 Osaka gubernatorial election

←  2023 8 February 2026 2027 →

Candidate Hirofumi Yoshimura Tamotsu Natto Tsuneki Onishi Party One Osaka Independent Independent

Incumbent Governor of Osaka Prefecture Hirofumi Yoshimura One Osaka

The 2026 Osaka gubernatorial election will be held on 8 February 2026 to elect the governor of Osaka Prefecture. It will be held alongside the 2026 Osaka mayoral election and 2026 Japanese general election. It was triggered by the resignation of Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is seeking re-election as a mandate for a third referendum on the Osaka Metropolis Plan.

Background

The Osaka Metropolis Plan has been a long-term goal of the Osaka Restoration Association (One Osaka), of which Yoshimura is a member. The plan would merge the municipality of Osaka and the Osaka Prefecture into a metropolis akin to Tokyo. The plan had been previously rejected in referendums 2015 and 2020 by a narrow margin. Yoshimura, previously mayor of Osaka, was elected governor of Osaka Prefecture in 2019 and re-elected in 2023.

In late 2024, Nippon Ishin no Kai, One Osaka's national affiliate, entered a governing agreement with the Liberal Democratic Party. Part of the agreement was a plan to designate a secondary capital for Japan. In order to enhance the chances of Osaka being selected, Yoshimura and the party decided to revive the Metropolis Plan. ^[1]

On 16 January 2026, Yoshimura and Osaka mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama announced that they were both resigning from their posts in order to seek a mandate for a third referendum. ^[2]

As Yoshimura resigned voluntarily without vote of no confidence or recall, this election is a so-called denaoshi (出直し; ~"fresh start") election (ja) under article 259/2 of the electoral law: If Yoshimura wins reelection, the previous electoral cycle will be maintained and the next regular election would be due in April 2027; ^[3] any other winner would be elected for a fresh full four-year term.

Candidates

Incumbent Yoshimura is seeking re-election. 44-year-old Tamotsu Natto, the head of a public-interest foundation, and 61-year-old Tsuneki Onishi, leader of the political group Independent Alliance, also filed to run. ^[4] Onishi opposes the metropolis plan while Natto stated he will only pass it if 90% of voters approve. ^[5] Besides Yoshimura's Nippon Ishin party, none of the major national political parties ran or endorsed candidates. ^[6]

Candidate			Party	Background
		Hirofumi Yoshimura (age 50)	One Osaka Nippon Ishin no Kai	Governor of Osaka Prefecture (2019–26) Mayor of Osaka (2015–19) Member of the House of Representatives (2014–15)
		Tamotsu Natto (age 44)	Independent	Public-interest foundation chairman
		Tsuneki Onishi (age 61)	Independent	Co-president of the Independent Alliance

See also

• 2026 Japanese local elections
• 2026 Osaka mayoral election - held on the same day
• 2026 Japanese general election - held on the same day
• 2026 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election - held on the same day
• 2026 Nagasaki gubernatorial election - held on the same day

References

1. "Osaka governor mulls stepping down to pave way for secondary capital designation". The Japan Times . 13 January 2026.
2. Johnston, Eric (16 January 2026). "Yoshimura gambles on double election to push plan to merge Osaka city's wards". The Japan Times .
3. Mainichi Shimbun, January 23 2026: 大阪府知事選告示　前職再選なら次期知事選はいつ?, retrieved January 25, 2026.
4. "Yoshimura, 2 other candidates file for Osaka governor's race". Asahi Shimbun . 22 January 2026.
5. "Campaigning begins for Osaka gubernatorial election on Feb. 8". The Japan Times . 22 January 2026.
6. "LDP to postpone fielding candidates in Osaka double elections; CDP, Komeito, and Communist Party also join". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 17 January 2026.