TOKYO: Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko announced Wednesday that she will run in the July 7 gubernatorial election in the Japanese capital for a third term.

“I’ll work on the ‘Grand Reform of Tokyo 3.0’ initiative, an updated version (of the previous reform vision for Tokyo),” Koike, 71, said at a plenary meeting of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly on the final day of its regular session.

Koike highlighted her achievements in the areas of child-rearing and educational support during her two terms as Tokyo governor spanning eight years, including a monthly benefit of 5,000 yen to residents aged up to 18.

“I’ve challenged the way policies should be implemented and even influenced the central government (to act),” she said.

She said that there are many remaining issues that still need to be tackled “with full force,” including the aging population, the declining birthrate, female empowerment and digitalization.

“We will allocate funds to the most important thing, namely protecting the lives of the people,” Koike told reporters after the plenary meeting, voicing hopes of focusing on flood prevention measures using reservoirs.

Koike won her first term as Tokyo governor in 2016, beating rivals including a candidate backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She then launched regional party Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group).

In the 2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election, Koike clinched her second term, gaining 3.66 million votes. During her second term, Koike dealt with the COVID-19 crisis and oversaw Tokyo’s hosting of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.

For the upcoming election, Koike is expected to receive support from the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito.

Her main opponent in the closely watched election will likely be House of Councillors lawmaker Renho, 56, who is expected to be backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party in national politics, as well as the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, both opposition parties.

Renho on Wednesday submitted to the CDP a letter of resignation from the party, to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent candidate.

Over 40 people have announced plans to run in the election, including 41-year-old Shinji Ishimaru, former mayor of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, TAMOGAMI Toshio, a 75-year-old former chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force, and 73-year-old television personality SHIMIZU Kuniaki.

The official campaign period for the Tokyo race is set to start on June 20.

JIJI Press