 In April 2012, Yomiuri Group Chairman Tsuneo Watanabe wrote that Hashimoto's declaration that elections are a form of wiping the slate clean reminded him of the tactics Hitler used to come to power.There is a history of conflict between Hashimoto and the "Asahi Shimbun", one of the largest newspapers in Japan.After the paper criticized a statement he had made regarding a court case in an editorial in 2008, Hashimoto responded saying