bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Kyodo

Governor Yuriko Koike’s new party and allies scored a sweeping victory in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election Sunday, securing an overall majority and dealing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party its worst defeat ever in a Tokyo municipal election.
Koike’s Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First party) became the biggest force in the assembly with 49 of its 127 seats. Together with allies, including the Komeito party which took 23 seats, the Koike camp won 79 seats.
The LDP won only 23 seats, far below its previous record low of 38 in 2009, prompting Hakubun Shimomura, who heads the party’s Tokyo chapter, to step down from the post to take responsibility for the crushing defeat.
‘It stinks’: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embroiled in fresh scandal over his use of influence to benefit friends
“I am pleased that voters acknowledged what we have achieved from the viewpoint of Tokyoites,” Koike told reporters, commenting on a race widely viewed as a referendum on her first year in office after becoming Tokyo’s first female governor last August.
The reform-minded Koike has pledged to change the opaque decision-making process in the local legislature, which controls a budget comparable to that of Sweden.

The landslide victory could encourage Koike to strive to make her party a force in national politics, but the former LDP lawmaker and Cabinet minister has denied having such plans.
The election is also being viewed as a barometer of national politics, and particularly public support for the ruling LDP and Abe,
although no national election is scheduled until late 2018.
Yuriko Koike promises to deliver ‘a Tokyo you have never seen’ after being elected governor
Opinion polls had shown Tomin First no Kai gaining momentum after Abe’s approval rating dropped amid allegations of inappropriate involvement in two school building projects and his ramming through the Diet contentious legislation that critics say threatens civil liberties.
The LDP suffered more embarrassment in the days leading up to the poll when two close allies of Abe became embroiled in controversy. Defence Minister Tomomi Inada came under fire for appearing to imply in a stump speech that the Self-Defence Forces supported the LDP, and Shimomura, who served as education minister, was accused of mishandling political donations.
An audio recording also surfaced in which a junior female LDP lawmaker was heard physically and verbally abusing one of her secretaries.

One of the key issues in the assembly race was the Tsukiji fish market relocation plan that Koike announced just before campaigning began. Koike said the metro government will transfer the market to a nearby Toyosu waterfront site for five years before returning it to a redeveloped Tsukiji location.
The LDP lambasted the timing of Koike’s announcement as an election tactic and said it wants the market permanently transferred to Toyosu as planned. The initial relocation project stalled over concerns about pollution at the Toyosu site.
Other issues in the campaign included preparations for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and measures to reduce the number of children on waiting lists for nursery school.
Japan’s PM Abe and wife snared in a school for scandal, involving dubious land deal and hyper-nationalist kindergarten
Voter turnout stood at 51.27 percent, up from 43.50 percent in the previous election in 2013.
Among other parties, the Japanese Communist Party won 19 seats and the Democratic Party five.

Ahead of the election, the LDP held 57 seats in the Tokyo assembly, followed by Komeito with 22, the Japanese Communist Party with 17, the Democratic Party with seven and Tomin First six.
Defence assets of hawkish new minister Tomomi Inada under scrutiny
A total of 259 candidates, including a record 65 women, ran in the assembly race. The LDP officially endorsed 60 candidates, with Koike’s party fielding 50, the Japanese Communist Party 37, and the Democratic Party and Komeito 23 each. Komeito is also the LDP’s coalition partner in national politics.


Koike’s camp sweeps Tokyo assembly election, delivering heavy blow to PM Abe

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike marks the names of candidates who won a seat in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO : Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada (C) is surrounded by reporters after reports of the launch of a North Korean missile, upon her arrival at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan May 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gives a speech in Kobe on June 24, 2017. Abe said he wants the LDP to submit proposals for discussion on changing the Constitution during an extraordinary Diet session likely to be convened in the fall. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike who currently is the leader of the newly-formed Tomin First no Kai (Tokyo Residents First) party, speaks during a television interview in Tokyo on July 2, 2017, after the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election. Tokyo residents went to the polls on July 2 in a big test for embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose ruling Liberal Democratic Party is facing a powerful challenge from the megacity's popular governor for control of the local assembly. / AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI

News

Asia

East Asia

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Update | Koike’s camp sweeps Tokyo assembly election, delivering heavy blow to PM Abe

Update | Koike’s camp sweeps Tokyo assembly election, delivering heavy blow to PM Abe