Koike’s juggling act to balance party affairs

Three days before campaigning for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election kicked off, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike was hospitalized due to excessive fatigue and did not declare her support for the regional party she founded, Tomin First no Kai.

Koike, currently a special adviser to Tomin First, may have taken such a stance out of consideration for the smooth operation of the metropolitan assembly after the vote, as the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito cooperated for this election, according to a senior metropolitan government official.

This speculation came as Koike and the LDP have shown signs of a detente after twists and turns in the five years since the former LDP bigwig became the capital’s governor in 2016.

As governor, Koike criticized the LDP’s Tokyo chapter, calling it a “black box” for its lack of transparency. The LDP had long controlled the metropolitan assembly until Koike’s regional party came on the scene. Tomin First won the largest number of seats in the previous metropolitan assembly election in 2017, altering the power balance.

Initially, the LDP continued to oppose the draft budgets for new fiscal years proposed by the metropolitan government and engaged in aggressive confrontations with Tomin First. As time passed, however, the LDP began to make requests to Koike about budgets and other such matters.

For her part, Koike has repeatedly visited LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo.

As the relationship between the LDP and the governor has improved, the party has increasingly backed plans that Koike has submitted to the assembly. There were even cases where the party extended substantial support to the governor.

“There is no reason for us to engage in heated confrontations with Gov. Koike, who was originally an LDP member,” said a senior official of the party’s Tokyo chapter.

When it comes to competing for assembly seats, however, “the governor and Tomin First are different matters,” the official said.

Komeito had initially cooperated with Tomin First, but its relationship with the regional party has gradually worsened over the handling of a proposed ordinance in the assembly, among other matters.

As a result, Komeito joined forces with the LDP in the hopes of securing a majority of assembly seats, battling fiercely with Tomin First in Sunday’s election.

Under the circumstances, Koike initially took a wait-and-see approach to the election as she was hospitalized. However, she visited Tomin First candidates to stump for them from Saturday morning, the last day of campaigning.

There has been speculation that Koike may run in a national election. With the a House of Representatives election looming, one executive of the LDP’s Tokyo chapter said of Koike sarcastically, “She may be putting off thinking about the future of the Tokyo metropolitan government and the assembly, with an eye on national politics.” (July 6)