After Covid, Olympics, Tokyo’s first female governor wins third term
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has secured her position for another four years by winning a third consecutive term in Sunday’s gubernatorial election.
Ms. Koike garnered over 2.9 million votes, accounting for 42.8% of the total, significantly outpacing her competitors.
Her re-election is seen as a positive outcome for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which supported the 71-year-old governor in her bid as an independent candidate.
Ms. Koike made history in 2016 as Tokyo’s first female governor and was re-elected for a second term in 2020.
Known for guiding Japan’s largest city through challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the postponed 2020 Olympics, the conservative governor also faced controversies related to her educational background and infrastructure initiatives during her tenure.
Upon her victory, Ms. Koike emphasized the importance of addressing the digital transformation amidst significant changes in industries.
She said she would consolidate efforts to keep improving Tokyo, including “the environment for women’s empowerment”, which she said was “insufficient [in Japan] compared to other parts of the world.”
Ms Koike’s appointment makes her one of the most powerful women in Japan’s male-dominated politics. She told the BBC that she won her first term “because I [am] a woman”.
“People prefer to have something new, or somebody new, in order to change society,” she said then.
With Tokyo accounting for about 11% of Japan’s population and contributing nearly 20% of the nation’s total GDP, Governor Yuriko Koike oversees the city’s substantial budget, which has reached an impressive 16.55 trillion yen ($100 billion; £80 billion) this fiscal year.
In her new term, she faces the challenge of addressing Tokyo’s alarmingly low birth rate, a major issue raised during her campaign. The birth rate in Tokyo is 0.99—less than one child per woman aged between 15 and 49—the lowest of any region in the country.
‘I was elected because I was a woman’
In total, 56 candidates competed for leadership positions in Tokyo and several other cities within the prefecture. Voter turnout on Sunday exceeded 60%, up from 55% in the 2020 election.
Initially, observers anticipated a close contest between Governor Yuriko Koike and prominent opposition figure Renho Saito. However, Shinji Ishimaru, an independent candidate and former mayor of Akitakata in Hiroshima prefecture, unexpectedly secured second place—a position long considered assured for Renho.
Renho, 56, supported by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), ultimately came in third.
Mr. Ishimaru, 41, was relatively unknown in Tokyo prior to the campaign. His success is attributed to his popularity among young voters, whom he actively engaged through extensive social media outreach during the election.
A former banker, Ishimaru emphasized economic and industrial advancement for Tokyo throughout his campaign.
After the polls closed, he told his supporters, “I did all I could”, alluding to the fact that he had no particular party affiliation, unlike the two main contenders.