Japan 'gangster son' Toru Hashimoto wins Osaka ballot

[alp227]

Source: BBC

Voters in the Japanese city of Osaka have elected self-proclaimed son of a gangster Toru Hashimoto over incumbent Kunio Hiramatsu as the new mayor.

Mr Hashimoto, 42, had been the governor of the greater Osaka prefecture since 2008.

He recently resigned to run in the mayoral election.

He has proposed to reform Osaka's administrative structure because he said the city hall and the prefectural office overlap in their functions.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15913870

[MADem]

1. Soprano - San is now the mayor! Let the whoring and gambling begin!

I'm not kidding: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15786798

There is no other city as vulgar and obscene as Osaka," says Mr Hashimoto.

"We should celebrate the image and welcome the development of casinos and red-light districts to attract people."

[McCamy Taylor]

2. The yakuza in Japan is not the same as the Mafia here. They operate much more openly.

[Heywood J]

3. What gave me a hoot was this:

The prefecture's unemployment rate was the second highest in the country at 6.9% in 2010, and well above the national average of 5.1% according to the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.