Tokyo---The people of Osaka started voting Sunday on a plan to streamline Japan's second city in the mould of global metropolises like London, New York and Tokyo, as the one-time commercial capital seeks to recapture its glory days.
On the table is what supporters say is a way to slash waste, cut out administrative duplication and boost the brand of the city at home and abroad, making it more attractive to investors and sports event organisers.
Apeing the set-up of big brother Tokyo, the proposal would see Osaka's current 24 separate wards merged into five "special districts".
Each would have limited autonomy under a souped-up mayoralty, which would focus on providing public services, while costly urban development would be managed by the existing prefecture -- a body similar to a US state.
Proponents say it would save the city's 2.7 million people a hefty 270 billion yen ($2.6 billion) over the next 17 years and make it easier to sell as a venue for business or big sports fixtures.
Flamboyant but divisive mayor Toru Hashimoto, whose Osaka Restoration Party is backing the plan, has vowed to "retire from politics" if the yes-or-no referendum fails.
Recent polls put support at around 40 percent, with 48 percent of voters preferring the status quo.
The plan comes with Osaka suffering something of an identity crisis.
Hundreds of years ago, it was the nation's biggest and wealthiest commercial hub, with rice and other major commodities shipped from all over the country for auction in "the kitchen of the nation."
But it all began to go wrong in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, with the fall of the isolationist shogunate (military government) that had ruled Japan for more than 250 years.
The imperial family was brought out of seclusion in nearby Kyoto and moved to Tokyo, which was proclaimed the new capital of a rapidly modernising country.
Osaka has long since lost its status as Japan's second-most populous city, displaced by Yokohama, Tokyo's sprawling neighbour, although it has retained its distinctive culture.
Voter turnout was 14 percent at 11:00 am (0200 GMT), the city's election board said. Voting stations close at 1100 GMT and vote counting will start immediately.
AFP
