Campaigning began Monday for a Nov 1 referendum on whether Osaka should become a metropolis akin to Tokyo in 2025.

Some 2.24 million voters in the city are eligible to take part in what will be a second plebiscite on the Osaka metropolis plan. A similar plan was voted down in 2015 by a slim margin.

Proponents say such a measure will lead to cost-effective governance by eliminating duplication of work between the Osaka prefectural and city governments. Opponents, however, argue the coronavirus crisis should be prioritized over the referendum.

A majority vote is required to approve the plan, regardless of turn-out, and it will be legally binding.

Backed by Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and Mayor Ichiro Matsui, the initiative calls for the restructuring of Osaka city's 24 administrative districts into four special wards with greater authority and elected leaders. Tokyo is arranged similarly with 23 special wards.

"After having persistently argued for the elimination of the overlapping of administrative work, this day has finally arrived," Yoshimura said in a stump speech in the entertainment district of Namba in Osaka.

Matsui, who heads the Japan Innovation Party and the regional political group Osaka Ishin no Kai, urged the public to vote for the plan, saying that the city's economy has grown since Toru Hashimoto, a former governor and mayor of Osaka, first advocated the plan in 2010.

The Osaka metropolis plan is the signature policy of Osaka Ishin no Kai. Komeito, the ruling coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, also backs the plan.

If the plan is voted down again, Matsui has said he will retire from politics after completing his term as mayor through April 2023.