TOKYO: Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko plans to run for a third term in the July 7 gubernatorial election, people familiar with the matter said.

Koike, 71, is expected to receive the backing of Komeito, a partner in Japan’s ruling coalition with which she has a cooperative relationship. The Liberal Democratic Party, the dominant partner in the ruling bloc, is likely to support her as well.

She may officially declare her candidacy as early as Wednesday when the Tokyo metropolitan assembly convenes a regular session, people familiar with the matter said.

The LDP has already opted not to field its own candidate. The party’s group in the metropolitan assembly voted in favor of Koike’s fiscal 2024 budget, and has teamed up with the governor in campaigns for recent mayoral elections and metropolitan assembly by-elections.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party are working together to field a challenger to Koike. But the Tokyo chapter of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the umbrella body for labor unions in the country and a major support group for the CDP, backed Koike in the 2020 gubernatorial election and may do so again this time.

In the upcoming gubernatorial race, Shinji Ishimaru, 41-year-old mayor of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, has declared his bid. He has gained attention on social media for his combative stance against Akitakata city assembly members and the media.

Koike began her political career as a member of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan’s parliament, in 1992, and switched to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, the following year. She has served as environment minister and defense minister.

She clinched her first term as Tokyo governor in 2016, beating rival candidates including from the LDP. The governor won a second term in 2020, amassing 3.66 million votes, the second highest ever in the history of Tokyo gubernatorial elections.

JIJI Press