Tokyo elects its first female governor
Yuriko Koike ran campaign without backing of ruling Liberal Democratic Party
Tokyo on Sunday elected its first female governor to lead the city as it prepares to host the 2020 Olympics, as voters turned to a leader promising clean politics after two predecessors resigned over money scandals.
Yuriko Koike was announced the winner by Japanese media as soon as voting ended, based on her definitive lead in exit polls. She will take charge of a sprawling capital with a pop- ulation of more than 13 million and an annual budget bigger than Sweden’s.
“I am pushing for a Tokyo where people’s lives will be better, and everyone can shine — men and women, children and adults, the elderly and the disabled,” Koike said, appearing at her campaign office, bowing deeply and waving to supporters.
Koike, 64, had previously served as defence minister, Japan’s first woman in that post. But she ran in the Tokyo election without the official backing of the ruling pro-U.S., probusiness Liberal Democratic Party. During her campaign, she wore green to symbolize her freshness, and asked her supporters to also wear the colour and wave green fans and banners.
One of Koike’s first jobs will be going to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics as the representative of the city that’s hosting the next games.
Yoichi Masuzoe, the former governor, resigned in June after acknowledging exorbitant, though not illegal, spending of taxpayers’ money, including for hotel suites and expensive artwork. The governor before him also resigned in disgrace.
Planning for the 2020 Tokyo games has run into problems, including ballooning costs, the scrapping of the initial main stadium design and de- lays in construction. The Tokyo Olympics logo had to be redesigned after the initial choice was reportedly plagiarized. The games are a cen- trepiece for Japan’s revival hopes as the world’s third-largest economy strives to keep growth going after more than a decade of stagnation.