In Hokkaido, a candidate supported by the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito has taken the lead over his rival backed by opposition parties in the gubernatorial election. Hokkaido is the only prefecture where the ruling and opposition blocks are facing off in a governor’s race.
 The Yomiuri Shimbun has analyzed the situation surrounding the first half of the unified local elections next week based on the results of an opinion survey and news coverage by local Yomiuri bureaus nationwide.
 Slated for April 7, the first part of the unified local elections includes 11 gubernatorial elections and races for the leadership of six ordinance-designated cities. Assembly election campaigns have also kicked off in 41 prefectures and 17 major cities, with voting and ballot counting for these races also to be held on April 7.
 Both the ruling and opposition blocs regard the local unified elections as a prelude to the House of Councillors election this summer, and are devoting as much effort to the upcoming elections as they would to a national race. 
 The key issue in Osaka’s twin gubernatorial and mayoral elections is the so-called Osaka metropolis plan to abolish the ordinance-designated city of Osaka and reorganize it into special wards, a system modeled on Tokyo.
 The Osaka prefectural governor and Osaka city mayor stepped down before the end of their terms so they could seek to trade positions. They are both members of Osaka Ishin no Kai, a regional political party that aims to realize the Osaka metropolis plan.