Osaka City Council

The Osaka City Council (大阪市会, Ōsaka-shi kai) is the legislature of Osaka City. It is responsible for the "enactment, amendment and repeal of ordinances, budgetary decisions, approval of account settlements, matters of financial importances including acquisition and disposal of city assets, and others." [2] The assembly has a regular membership 83 members, with 42 needed to form a majority.

Osaka City Council

大阪市会

Ōsaka-shikai
Type
Type
History
Founded1889 (1889) (municipal mergers of the Meiji era (明治の大合併) [1]
Leadership
President (gichō)
Shoichi Kakutani, Osaka Restoration Association
since May 29, 2018
Vice-President (fuku-gichō)
Yoshitaka Tsuji, Komeito
since May 29, 2018
Structure
Political groups
  Osaka Restoration Association（40）
  Komeito （18）
  Liberal Democratic Party （17）
  Communist Party （4）
  Independents （4）
Elections
Medium‐size constituency system
Last election
April 2019
Meeting place
 Japan, Osaka City Hall, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, Kita Ward, Nakanoshima, 1-3-20.
Website
大阪市会
Osaka City Hall (2016)

Overview
  • Members: 83
  • Term: 4 years
  • Voting System: Medium‐size constituency system (Single non-transferable vote)
  • President: Shoichi Kakutani（Osaka Restoration Association）
  • Vice-President: Yoshitaka Tsuji（Komeito）

The municipal government consists of 24 electoral districts, representing the 24 administrative wards of the city. The number of members elected from each district is proportional to the ward's population.[3]

Members are elected to four-year terms with no term limits. Japanese citizens of voting age who have been living in Osaka city continuously for three months have the right to vote in municipal government elections, and people with voting rights who are at least 25 years old may stand as candidates.[4]

Members meet quarterly for the regular assembly, additional extraordinary sessions are also held. There are six standing committees of the Osaka municipal government: Finance and General Affairs, Education and Economic Affairs, Public Welfare and Health, Planning and Fire Defense, Construction and Port, and Transport and Waterworks.[5]

The municipal government meets on the 7th (government library, special committee room) and 8th (meeting hall, committee room, city government secretariat, president's office) floors of Osaka City Hall.

Representatives' compensation and benefits
Position Monthly remuneration Annual bonus Government activity allowance Annual salary
President 950,000円 5,119,200円 513,000円 / month 16,519,200円
Vice-President 844,000円 4,550,400円 14,678,400円
Member 774,000円 4,171,200円 13,459,200円
"大阪市市政§大阪市特別職の報酬等の状況（平成28年6月19日時点）" [
Osaka City Government - the situation of remuneration for Osaka City special employees (as of June 18, 2016).] (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 April 2019.

Current composition

The 2019 municipal assembly election took place on 7 April 2019 as part of the 19th unified local elections. Prior to the election, the council was reduced in size from 86 to 83 seats.

The Osaka Restoration Association, retained its position as the largest party in the assembly but failed to claim a majority as it holds in the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. The election saw the Osaka Restoration Association gain six seats, while all other parties lost seats (Liberal Democratic Party -4, Komeito -1, Communist Party -5). The Constitutional Democratic Party, the national opposition party, failed to gain a seat.

The 7 April 2019 general election of members of the council gave the following result:[6]

Results of the 2019 Osaka City Council election
Party Seats
Osaka Restoration Association (大阪維新の会, Ōsaka Ishin no Kai) 40
Komeito (公明党, Kōmeitō) 18
Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyūminshutō) 17
Japanese Communist Party (日本共産党, Nihon Kyōsantō) 4
Independents 4
Total 83
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gollark: It's kind of incoherent to say "free speech is bad" and also "I should be allowed free speech" at the same time.
gollark: I mean, you are DEFINITELY more free to say things than in North Korea or China.
gollark: That doesn't mean it'll *always happen*.
gollark: It's not "don't align with your interests" as much as "egregiously oppress people".

References
  1. Kiyotaka Yokomichi. "The Development of Municipal Mergers in Japan" (PDF). The Institute of Comparative Studies in Local Governance.
  2. "Osaka City Council : Authority of the City Council". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  3. "Osaka City Council : How The Council Work". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. "Osaka City Council : How The Council Work". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. "City of Osaka/City Administration/Profile of Osaka City". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  6. "府県議・政令市議選 議席決まる" [Prefectural Assembly/Municipal Assembly Election Seats Decided] (in Japanese). 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
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