Renho Decides to Run for Tokyo Governor

A member of the House of Councillors affiliated with the Constitutional Democratic Party, Renho, announced that she would run for Tokyo metropolitan gubernatorial election scheduled to be voted on July 6th. Although incumbent governor, Yuriko Koike, is supposed to run for her third term, Renho contends against Koike, criticizing her as approaching scandal-soaked Liberal Democratic Party. Consecutive defeats of LDP in some elections brought unexpected candidate in the election of the capital of Japan. 

Renho held a press conference at the headquarters of CDP, the main opposition party in the Diet. “There is major anger against the nature of LDP dealing with political funds. We need to finish it. Koike, as a renegade facing back to LDP, cannot be able to lead the reform of politics,” said Renho. She criticized Koike’s current support for LDP candidates in recent elections.

 

Koike is reported as running for the election in July, although she has not officially announced her bid. Koike has been keeping her popularity with her moderate management of the politics in Tokyo. However, in the by-election of Tokyo 15thdistrict of the House of Representatives voted late April, a LDP candidate with support of Koike bitterly lost it with wide margin against the winner with CDP. Koike failed in a mayoral election in Meguro, Tokyo, when she supported an LDP candidate.

 

Koike and CDP closely watched the result of those elections and realized that the anger of the people against the slush fund scandal, and against the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s handling of political reform, was wide and strong. CDP decided to raise a candidate against Koike with viable hope to win by criticizing LDP. “Anti-LDP and non-Koike” is the basic appeal of Renho for the Tokyo gubernatorial election.

 

Considering public criticism against itself, the LDP has not been active for raising its own candidate for the election. Instead, the party is willing to support Koike with its coalition partner, Komeito. While Koike has not officially announced her bid, it is expected that she will do it in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly soon.

 

The Japan Communist Party is going to support Renho. The election is likely to be a major showdown between the leading and the opposition parties in the Diet, which may affect LDP’s presidential election this fall. If CDP wins the election, it may seal Kishida’s fate to be reelected as LDP president.

 

Renho and Koike have common career. Each of them had been a TV news caster. After becoming a lawmaker, Koike experienced Minister of Defense in Abe Cabinet, and Renho worked as the Minister for Administrative Reform in Kan Cabinet. The Democratic Party, or Minshinto, which once was headed by Renho tried to be integrated with the Party of Hope led by Koike in 2017.

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