Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike has made no secret of her desire to be Japan’s first female prime minister – she even named her pet terrier Sori, Japanese for prime minister. But Koike, 65, whose fledgling Party of Hope poses a growing threat to Prime…
Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike has made no secret of her desire to be Japan’s first female prime minister – she even named her pet terrier Sori, Japanese for prime minister.
But Koike, 65, whose fledgling Party of Hope poses a growing threat to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc in an election this month, faces a tough choice: run now for a seat in parliament to become eligible for the top job, or wait and bet her party positions itself to win the next national poll.
Abe called the Oct 22 poll in hopes his Liberal Democratic Party-led bloc could keep its majority in the lower house, where it now holds a two-thirds « super majority », but Koike’s party has upended forecasts.
If Koike resigns as governor little more than a year after defying Abe’s LDP to run successfully for that post, she would risk a backlash from voters. Waiting might let her best shot at the premiership slip through her fingers.
« If she thinks of the nation, it is important that she boldly announce her candidacy, present her ideas about important matters … and debate policies head on, » Abe’s ally, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told reporters on Monday.
Koike, a media-savvy former LDP member and defense minister, has said she would not resign as governor to run now, especially ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games, which Tokyo will host.
But her carefully phrased remarks have failed to kill speculation that she will run. Candidates must register on Oct. 10, when the campaign officially starts.
Koike is certain to be watching opinion polls as she weighs her decision.
A TV Asahi survey published on Monday showed 72% of respondents were negative about her potential candidacy.
A separate NHK poll showed that support for Abe dropped seven points to 37%.
