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Japan Innovation Party
The Japan Innovation Party (日本維新の会, Nippon Ishin no Kai; Japan Restoration Association) is a political party in Japan based in Osaka, variously described as conservative, centre-right, right-wing, and right-wing populist.
The party was founded in October 2015, as Initiatives from Osaka, from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party. It ended up becoming the third-largest opposition party in the National Diet following the 2016 House of Councillors election. In the 2017 general election, the party won 11 seats, down from the 14 it held previously. In the 2019 House of Councillors election, it won 4 new seats. In the 2021 general election, the party gained 30 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the chamber, winning nearly all seats in Osaka while also expanding its representation outside the prefecture. In the 2024 general election, it lost several of its seats but kept its dominance in Osaka. In 2025, the party formed a governing coalition together with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following the collapse of the 26-year-long LDP–Komeito coalition.
The Japan Innovation Party advocates decentralization, federalism (Dōshūsei), and limited government policies. It argues to remove defense spending limits, and stands with the LDP on revising the constitution. The party also supports socially liberal policies such as expanded LGBTQ protections and same-sex marriages, while also backing free high school education. The party has represented a form of right-wing populism that until 2025 opposed the LDP's entrenched control over Japanese politics and bureaucracy, known as the 1955 System.
In August 2015, Secretary General Kakizawa Mito endorsed a candidate jointly backed by the Japanese Communist Party and the Democratic Party of Japan in the Yamagata mayoral election, exposing internal divisions within the Restoration Party. On 28 August, Tōru Hashimoto and his close ally and advisor, Osaka Governor Ichirō Matsui, announced their departure from the party. The following day, Hashimoto declared his intent to establish a new political party. The announcement was supported by House of Councillors member Toranosuke Katayama and other Osaka-based lawmakers. Plans were made to call the new party the "Osaka Restoration Party" (おおさか維新の会), and preparations began for a formal split from the existing party structure.
By October, the talks had broken down, prompting the national leadership of the Japan Innovation Party to expel members of the Diet and local assemblies who were expected to align with Hashimoto's new group. However, Osaka-based Diet members contested the expulsions, arguing they were legally invalid since, after 1 October, the party no longer had a valid executive structure. As a result, the expelled members filed a formal appeal against the decision. In protest, five House of Councillors members, affiliated with Katayama, voluntarily withdrew from the parliamentary faction on 16 October, forming a new "Restoration Party (House of Councillors)" faction.
On 31 October 2015, Hashimoto and Matsui officially launched Initiatives from Osaka (おおさか維新の会, Ōsaka Ishin no Kai) during a meeting in Osaka, following their departure from the Japan Innovation Party. The name was derived from the Osaka Restoration Association, also founded by Hashimoto, but distinguished by the use of hiragana (おおさか) instead of kanji (大阪). Hashimoto was named party leader, Matsui became secretary-general, and 19 Diet members—mostly from Osaka—joined the new party. The "Osaka Restoration Association" was officially registered on 2 November.
The first significant election contested by the party was the July 2016 House of Councillors election. The party saw strong results in the Kansai region, winning two of the four seats in the Osaka at-large district and one of three in the Hyogo at-large district. In the national proportional representation block, the party placed fifth with 5,153,584 votes (9.2%), earning 4 out of 48 seats. The party's support was especially concentrated in Osaka, where it received 1,293,626 votes (34.9%), and it ranked second in Hyogo Prefecture with 470,526 votes (19.5%). The gains positioned the party as the third-largest opposition force in the National Diet.
Despite success in Kansai, Matsui declared the party's overall performance insufficient for a national political force. On 12 July, he announced plans to rename the party to broaden its appeal across Japan. An internal poll among Diet members and regional representatives shortlisted three names, with "Nippon Ishin no Kai" (Japan Restoration Party) emerging as the most supported. On 23 August 2016, during a special convention in Osaka City, the party formally adopted the new name: Nippon Ishin no Kai (日本維新の会). Matsui continued as party leader, and the party unveiled a new logo similar to its previous design, replacing the word "Osaka" with "Japan."
Japan Innovation Party
The Japan Innovation Party (日本維新の会, Nippon Ishin no Kai; Japan Restoration Association) is a political party in Japan based in Osaka, variously described as conservative, centre-right, right-wing, and right-wing populist.
The party was founded in October 2015, as Initiatives from Osaka, from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party. It ended up becoming the third-largest opposition party in the National Diet following the 2016 House of Councillors election. In the 2017 general election, the party won 11 seats, down from the 14 it held previously. In the 2019 House of Councillors election, it won 4 new seats. In the 2021 general election, the party gained 30 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the chamber, winning nearly all seats in Osaka while also expanding its representation outside the prefecture. In the 2024 general election, it lost several of its seats but kept its dominance in Osaka. In 2025, the party formed a governing coalition together with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following the collapse of the 26-year-long LDP–Komeito coalition.
The Japan Innovation Party advocates decentralization, federalism (Dōshūsei), and limited government policies. It argues to remove defense spending limits, and stands with the LDP on revising the constitution. The party also supports socially liberal policies such as expanded LGBTQ protections and same-sex marriages, while also backing free high school education. The party has represented a form of right-wing populism that until 2025 opposed the LDP's entrenched control over Japanese politics and bureaucracy, known as the 1955 System.
In August 2015, Secretary General Kakizawa Mito endorsed a candidate jointly backed by the Japanese Communist Party and the Democratic Party of Japan in the Yamagata mayoral election, exposing internal divisions within the Restoration Party. On 28 August, Tōru Hashimoto and his close ally and advisor, Osaka Governor Ichirō Matsui, announced their departure from the party. The following day, Hashimoto declared his intent to establish a new political party. The announcement was supported by House of Councillors member Toranosuke Katayama and other Osaka-based lawmakers. Plans were made to call the new party the "Osaka Restoration Party" (おおさか維新の会), and preparations began for a formal split from the existing party structure.
By October, the talks had broken down, prompting the national leadership of the Japan Innovation Party to expel members of the Diet and local assemblies who were expected to align with Hashimoto's new group. However, Osaka-based Diet members contested the expulsions, arguing they were legally invalid since, after 1 October, the party no longer had a valid executive structure. As a result, the expelled members filed a formal appeal against the decision. In protest, five House of Councillors members, affiliated with Katayama, voluntarily withdrew from the parliamentary faction on 16 October, forming a new "Restoration Party (House of Councillors)" faction.
On 31 October 2015, Hashimoto and Matsui officially launched Initiatives from Osaka (おおさか維新の会, Ōsaka Ishin no Kai) during a meeting in Osaka, following their departure from the Japan Innovation Party. The name was derived from the Osaka Restoration Association, also founded by Hashimoto, but distinguished by the use of hiragana (おおさか) instead of kanji (大阪). Hashimoto was named party leader, Matsui became secretary-general, and 19 Diet members—mostly from Osaka—joined the new party. The "Osaka Restoration Association" was officially registered on 2 November.
The first significant election contested by the party was the July 2016 House of Councillors election. The party saw strong results in the Kansai region, winning two of the four seats in the Osaka at-large district and one of three in the Hyogo at-large district. In the national proportional representation block, the party placed fifth with 5,153,584 votes (9.2%), earning 4 out of 48 seats. The party's support was especially concentrated in Osaka, where it received 1,293,626 votes (34.9%), and it ranked second in Hyogo Prefecture with 470,526 votes (19.5%). The gains positioned the party as the third-largest opposition force in the National Diet.
Despite success in Kansai, Matsui declared the party's overall performance insufficient for a national political force. On 12 July, he announced plans to rename the party to broaden its appeal across Japan. An internal poll among Diet members and regional representatives shortlisted three names, with "Nippon Ishin no Kai" (Japan Restoration Party) emerging as the most supported. On 23 August 2016, during a special convention in Osaka City, the party formally adopted the new name: Nippon Ishin no Kai (日本維新の会). Matsui continued as party leader, and the party unveiled a new logo similar to its previous design, replacing the word "Osaka" with "Japan."