Osaka Gov. Yoshimura Calls on Hokkaido for ‘Secondary Capital’ Pact — Gov. Suzuki: ‘We Need a Multi-Polar Growth Model’

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The story

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura has called on Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki to sign an agreement toward realizing a “secondary capital” that could take over capital functions in the event of a major disaster. The thread’s discussion ranged from whether Hokkaido is suited as a defense stronghold and issues like heavy snowfall, to distrust of an Osaka-only plan, and even speculation that this could be a step toward a regional-state (dōshūsei) system.

Toward realizing a “secondary capital” that would take over capital functions during a major disaster, Governor Suzuki revealed his intention to sign an agreement with Osaka Prefecture and seek simultaneous designation for both.

At around 10 a.m. on August 27, Governor Suzuki and Sapporo Mayor Akimoto met with Minister for Regional Revitalization Kikawada, who oversees the secondary capital initiative, and handed him a request document calling for the plan’s realization.

The secondary capital initiative aims to serve as a backup hub for capital functions during a major disaster, as well as to ease the concentration of population and economic activity in Tokyo.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

5AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:31
Capital functions and defense functions go hand in hand everywhere in the world, so why not just have the four cities with defense bases — Sapporo, Sendai, Osaka (Itami), and Kumamoto — team up?
18AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:36
Re: #5
If they're going as far as dispersing ministries, whether the place offers a living environment that satisfies bureaucrats and their families should probably take priority.
6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:32
Could Sapporo hold up if Russia invaded?
Isn't Tokyo more solid?
166AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:29
Re: #6
If anyone seriously attacked Japan, they'd start with a naval blockade to starve us out first, so it wouldn't matter much where the capital is.
9AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:32
They probably want to spin this as 'it's not just about Osaka'…
188AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:45
Re: #9
They basically admitted Osaka alone can't check every box.
It's more like 'no way we're letting only you have all the fun.'
10AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:33
Ah well, that pretty much kills off Sendai's, Nagoya's, Hiroshima's, and Fukuoka's chances too.
25AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:37
The way they're doing this, lol.
Do they know full well Hokkaido would never actually get picked and are just saying 'let's cooperate' anyway?
32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:40
Re: #25
Sounds like inviting the plain-looking girl to a group mixer just to round out the numbers.
26AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:38
Maybe it's actually true that Ishin (the Osaka-based party) is aiming for a regional-state (dōshūsei) system.
So under the 'secondary capital' banner, they want to build up regional capitals?
68AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:51
Re: #26
Hokkai Region — Sapporo
Tohoku Region — Sendai
North Kanto Region — Utsunomiya
South Kanto Region — Chiyoda Ward
Koshinetsu Region — Niigata City
Hokuriku Region — Kanazawa
Tokai Region — Nagoya
Kinki Region — Umeda Ward
Chugoku Region — Hiroshima City
Shikoku Region — Takamatsu
Kyushu Region — Fukuoka City
Ryukyu Region — Naha
27AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:38
Rather than a 'secondary capital,' just dispersing capital functions would be enough, no?
46AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:44
Re: #27
Connect everything with a high-speed network so core functions can be taken over in an emergency — isn't that the bare minimum goal here?
29AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:40
Osaka is absolutely a non-starter
34AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:41
Hokkaido has a low risk of getting hit by a natural disaster at the same time as Tokyo.
Any place that would take damage simultaneously with Tokyo in a Nankai Trough megaquake is out of the question.
92AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:58
Re: #34
Fukuoka: 'Yeah, fair enough, lol' (せやな — Kansai dialect for 'that's right')
38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:41
First off, Sapporo's out — it's buried in snow for half the year.
40AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:42
Re: #38
Even if it's basically dormant, seems like it'd be fine to just park the Diet (parliament) in Hokkaido.
94AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:58
This 'secondary capital' thing is nothing but this guy's ego, going on about 'third time's the charm.'
97AnonymousAug 27, 2026 16:59
Re: #94
Seriously, this guy's still around, lol — mixing up the 'secondary capital' plan with the 'Osaka Metropolis' plan.
101AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:01
Yoshimura: 'I will never again attempt the Osaka Metropolis plan.'
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G8w7sKFaoAA_6qV.jpg
Yoshimura: 'I will never again pursue the Osaka Metropolis plan.'
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GfFFN6raoAA6anK.jpg
106AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:02
This… did he actually say this?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HE0WhjdbwAExppv.jpg
127AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:10
Secondary capital infrastructure development plan


Expo infrastructure development plan


They match.
137AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:15
How exactly are you supposed to travel all that way from Tokyo during a massive disaster?
This is a colossal waste of tax money.
139AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:18
Re: #137
Expo, Olympics, Asian Games, secondary capital — they just want an excuse for infrastructure spending.
145AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:22
Re: #137
Not just in Tokyo — right after a disaster, people stay put at first.
The workers needed for recovery stay behind, while the elderly, children, and women evacuate elsewhere and get support.

Even in the Great East Japan Earthquake, because of the radioactive contamination issue, I'd bet quite a few people sent their wives and kids off to another prefecture for safety.
154AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:25
Re: #137
It's to keep Japan running.
In a major disaster, Tokyoites get let go — that's a whole lot of self-importance.
146AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:22
Just change the capital every hundred years — after five hundred years, won't everywhere basically look like Tokyo?
149AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:23
Re: #146
The capital is Kyoto.
What on earth are you on about (written in Kansai dialect).
160AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:28
Re: #146
If anything, hasn't Tokyo become more like Kansai over the past 100 years?
192AnonymousAug 27, 2026 17:46
Ishin's 5-point wish list to the national government

1. Hold Diet sessions in Osaka
2. Strengthen Osaka's fire department
3. Cut taxes for Osaka only
4. Build out Osaka's infrastructure
5. Give Osaka more national tax revenue

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Newsplus) thread “Osaka Gov. Yoshimura Reaches Out — Agreement with Hokkaido Sought for ‘Secondary Capital,’ Gov. Suzuki: ‘We Need a Multi-Polar Growth Model’.”

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