Tokyo, August 1, 2016 – Former Minister of Environment, Mrs. Yuriko Koike of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was on Sunday elected governor of Tokyo. Koike, 64, defeated her two top rivals to become the first female leader of the party.
“I would like to implement new policies that no one has ever seen,” Koike told supporters as she learned victory was imminent. Koike polled 2,912,628 votes, while Hiroya Masuda got 1,793,453 votes and Shuntaro Torigoe got just 1,346,103 votes.
The election also witnessed a very large turnout of voters with 59.73 percent, about 13.59 percent up from the 46.14 percent turnout registered in Tokyo’s last gubernatorial election in February 2014.
Speaking on her victory, first female governor, Koike vowed to pursue policies that will promote better conditions for women.
“I believe that pushing policies for women will be good for Tokyo and bring happiness to the capital. I received so much support from women this election. The support made me think deeply that I have a responsibility to work on the issues of waiting lines for day care centers, elderly care and work-life balance,” Koike told reporters.
Meanwhile, Masuda bowed and apologized to his supporters for the loss after Koike’s victory was reported. “I am sorry that it turned out to be like this, even though I received strong support,” he said,
Torigoe(76) told reporters that he failed “because of a lack of ability,” adding that cooperation of the four opposition parties is needed from now on. The three top contenders promised to alleviate the chronic shortage of day care and nursing facilities, and beef up disaster preparedness in the quake-prone capital.
