The material for the Osaka prefectural assembly members' pins is to be changed to wood, in principle, to cut costs, sources said. The pins currently in use at the 88-member assembly are gold-plated and cost 22,000 yen each, and local political party Osaka Ishin no Kai has proposed the change.
To alleviate concerns that the wooden pins could break, gold-plated pins, which are about one-sixth the price of the current pins, will also be made. These will lead to savings of at least 10,000 yen per assembly member, the sources said.
The current pin design has been used since 1931, according to the prefectural assembly secretariat. It is shaped like a gear to represent the prefecture's flourishing textile industry. The prefectural flower, a plum blossom, appears in the center.
In recent years, however, more and more local assemblies have been reviewing the material of their member pins to cut costs and to respond to the rising price of gold.
In 2019, the Kyoto city assembly, which used to pay the highest unit price among the assemblies of all ordinance-designated cities at 61,600 yen for a pin with a gold body and a platinum center, changed its composition to a gold-plated copper body and a silver center, lowering the price to 9,000 yen per pin.
In March, the Osaka city assembly decided to reduce the cost of its member pins by 90% to about 6,000, yen changing the material from gold to gold-plated brass.
With these precedents, Osaka Ishin no Kai proposed changing the material of assembly member pins at the Osaka prefectural assembly in September.
The party proposed a wooden pin made of cypress produced in the prefecture for about 5,000 yen. Other political groups argued, however, that a wooden pin could break or that it should be made of metal since it features an image of a gear. Finally, it was agreed to also make a gold-plated pin, priced at about 3,700, yen which is cheaper than the conventional member pin.
Pins used to be distributed to Osaka prefectural assembly members each time they were elected, but from now on, members will continue to use the same pin if they are reelected.
"Even though it is about a small pin, improvements should be made," said an assembly member of Osaka Ishin no Kai.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
