Unfortunately for Mr Hashimoto, he is unlikely to be granted an open season for agency shooting.
Faced with a deteriorating economy, the Hashimoto government has fallen back on conventional policies.
Hashimoto and Watanabe, and their lieutenants, have been locked in discussions, seeking agreement on policies.
FORBES: Japan Politics in Flux as Tokyo Mayor Ishihara Resigns to Head New Party in Next Election
As a result, Mr Hashimoto's image as a strong man has taken something of a battering.
The last of his lieutenants to be made prime minister were Ryutaro Hashimoto and Mr Obuchi.
After some early gains by Mr Hashimoto, Mr Koizumi now seems to be inching ahead.
Yet Toru Hashimoto, the 42-year-old mayor of the huge city of Osaka, does not.
The public standing of the prime minister's other foe, Mr Hashimoto, may have also peaked.
The prospect of a big win in July has silenced Mr Hashimoto's critics within his party.
The second thing Mr Hashimoto is expected to do is to shuffle his cabinet.
Mr Koizumi was from the establishment but Mr Hashimoto is a true outsider (see article).
ECONOMIST: And the mainstream parties would do well to heed it
Mr Hashimoto outlined what he intends to say during a recent speech in Tokyo.
Much of what Mr Hashimoto wants is so ambitious that it verges on the fantastical.
ECONOMIST: Japanese politics: The man who would be dictator? | The
That's good news for Hashimoto, 60, who has played no small role in boosting LDP fortunes.
The result of the non-binding referendum, while gloomily predicted, has plunged Ryutaro Hashimoto's government into further confusion.
Piqued, Mr Hashimoto is now suggesting that the finance ministry be stripped of its tax-collecting powers instead.
"Japan is determined to take necessary economic-stimulus measures, " Hashimoto told the Asia-Europe summit in London last week.
Ryutaro Hashimoto's ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to introduce a package of bills in the next session.
Growing support for him and his organization give Hashimoto power that other politicians are seeking to share.
FORBES: Tokyo Buzzing with Talk of Political Party Realignment
Mr Hashimoto has a different way of showing that he means business, but it is equally effective.
Kan established himself on the national stage after Ryutaro Hashimoto appointed him Minister of Health in 1996.
All of which means Mr Hashimoto could be in a bit of a quandary after the election.
The coalition will be fractious, and pushing through a Hashimoto programme will prove a very tall order.
ECONOMIST: And the mainstream parties would do well to heed it
But Hashimoto says the ministry must come on board with other Japanese ministries to work out details of a ban.
They have raised concerns at home and abroad that Japan is effectively leaderless and that Hashimoto should resign.
Mr Hashimoto is determined to be remembered as the leader who brought Japan's overbearing civil service to heel.
Back in Tokyo, Mr Hashimoto's party and its coalition partners have roughed out an eight-point plan for Okinawa.
On the campaign trail, Mr Hashimoto and Mr Ishihara have drawn thousands of eager listeners wherever they stop.
Reassurances about Japan's joint security treaty with America aside, Mr Hashimoto's hosts want convincing on several other matters.
President Bill Clinton telephoned Hashimoto and urged him to take a "bold course" with new initiatives, including tax cuts.
应用推荐