Arab News Japan

TOKYO: With the election just a week away, the candidates to become Governor of Tokyo took to the streets on Saturday, led by incumbent KOIKE Yuriko who said she wanted to make Tokyo “the greatest city on earth.”

While that might prove to be a grand ambition, all the candidates realized they must make life in Japan’s capital easier for those living there. Koike proclaimed, “We must protect Tokyo. To do that, we must protect people, protect lives, and nurture lives, as well as protect mothers.”

Veteran politician Koike stuck to more traditional themes outside Kita-Senju Station in Adachi Ward in northeast Tokyo, where she was making her first pre-election appearance on the streets of Tokyo.

“I want to protect and nurture the economy, including small and medium-sized companies, and make Tokyo and Adachi Ward resistant to floods and earthquakes,” she said. “During my eight-year tenure at Tokyo Metropolitan Government, I have been responsible for Tokyo and protected the lives of the people during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Koike also boasted of her fiscal reforms and greater freedom of information since taking office.

“I want to improve the metropolitan government even further in the third term with the support of each of you. It is extremely important to protect the lives of the citizens of Tokyo.”

A woman holding her baby while watching Koike speak told Arab News Japan that she “has high hopes for Koike-san. I think she is good for the child-rearing generation, so I’m hoping good things will happen for my baby.”

Koike’s main rival in the race, former House of Councilors member, Renho, who goes by a single name, targeted Koike with a veiled attack on her approval of a redevelopment scheme, while former Chief of Staff of the Air Self-Defense Force TAMOGAMI Toshio said he wanted to help young people. Meanwhile, former Aki-Takata Mayor ISHIMARU Shinji targeted education as a key theme.