Understanding Japan Through Ancient Osaka

Ancient shorelines, Sumiyoshi and Kawachi networks, and why real travelers must learn to read the land

When the Osaka Expo ended, there was an immediate sense that “Osaka’s future ended with it.” At the same time, Nippon Ishin no Kai, a political party that was born in Osaka, has entered the new administration of Prime Minister Takaichi as the Liberal Democratic Party’s new coalition partner and has begun strengthening its advance into Tokyo’s political center. Originally, this party gained momentum through the “Osaka Metropolis Plan,” a proposal to decentralize the overly concentrated political and administrative functions in Tokyo, but outside of its Osaka home base it has little popularity, and in terms of nationwide results it has achieved nothing. Meanwhile, Komeito, long fused with the Liberal Democratic Party through a political relationship backed by Soka Gakkai, a religious organization, split apart. As a result, the Liberal Democratic Party was forced into a position where it could not even maintain national control unless it found a new coalition partner, and in a bitter twist of irony it ended up joining hands with a party born in Osaka.