TOKYO: The first female governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, was easily re-elected in the gubernatorial poll on Jul 5, winning 59.7 per cent of the vote from a 55 per cent turnout.
Koike defeated a divided field of a record 21 opposing candidates, securing another four-year term in office.
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Her main opponent Kenji Utsunomiya had the backing of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party. But the 73-year-old former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations only garnered 13.76 per cent of the vote, down from the 20.2 per cent in his 2014 campaign for governor.
Former actor Taro Yamamoto, who leads the Reiwa Shinsengumi party, placed third with 10.72 per cent of the vote. He had campaigned on cancelling the Olympics and redirecting funding to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: Tokyo's first woman governor set for re-election even as COVID-19 cases rise
Meanwhile, Koike remains committed to hosting a safe Olympic and Paralympic Games, which have been postponed to July 2021, to help unify the world in overcoming the pandemic.
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She is promoting a scaled back Olympics at minimal cost, with reduced events, limited spectators and few, if any, international tourists.
But the Tokyo Organising Committee have provided few details on how the Games will proceed, especially if a vaccine is not ready by 2021.
As the economy falls deeper into its worst post-war recession, a majority of Tokyo residents would prefer the Olympics to be further postponed or cancelled altogether.
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VICTORY DESPITE COVID-19
Koikes victory came despite a spike in COVID-19 infections in Tokyo, the epicentre of the pandemic in Japan. Since the national state of emergency was lifted in late May, daily cases reached a record of 366 on Jul 23.
There are now over 10,000 cases in Tokyo, accounting for over a third of Japans total infections (surpassing 27,000). This has forced Koike to declare the highest level of alert.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has become an accidental social media hit with messages promoting social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: AFP)
The former newscaster and cabinet minister still enjoys high approval ratings for her handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. This has overshadowed her failure to achieve her policy goals of reducing overwork and commuter congestion and improving childcare and elderly care.
Koikes articulate, confident and direct public communication, with frequent press conferences and extensive use of social media, has outshone the often erratic and lacklustre response of the national government, led by the increasingly unpopular Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
There is now speculation about whether Koike will return to national politics, potentially becoming Japans first female prime minister, although she currently denies any such plans.
Shinzo Abe is set to step down in September 2021, when he completes his unprecedented third term as leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The longest serving prime minister in Japanese history, Abes approval ratings have plunged amid the tanking economy, his governments muddled and uninspiring handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring political scandals.
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CHALLENGING OBSTACLES
Despite her popularity, Koike would face challenging obstacles. She would first have to step down as governor and contest a seat in the lower house of the National Diet (parliament) when the next national election (due by October 2021) is called.
Koike has a long history of hopping between parties, having been a member of seven different conservative and populist parties since she was first elected to the Diet in 1992.
She joined the LDP in 2002, entered the cabinet as Environment Minister in 2003 and became Japans first female Defence Minister in 2007.
She failed in a bid to become LDP leader in 2008 and resigned from the Diet in 2016. Koike won the election to become Tokyos governor in 2016, defeating the LDPs chosen candidate.
FILE PHOTO : Tokyo Governor Koike, Tokyo 2020 President Mori, IOC President Bach and Japan's PM Abe attend the 'One Year to Go' ceremony celebrating one year out from the start of the summer games in Tokyo
Despite the LDP backing her recent re-election, its senior politicians – already jostling to succeed Abe – would be unlikely to welcome her back into the party. As well as her party-jumping, they could drag up old scandals, such as the allegation that she faked receiving a degree from Cairo University in the 1970s, whiRead More – Source
