Despite his resounding re-election victory in Sunday's vote, Shintaro Ishihara's real test as Tokyo governor lies in the four years ahead, experts say.
Ishihara will lose his clout if he fails to follow through on many of the proposals he made before and after assuming the post in 1999, according to Takashi Mikuriya, a professor of politics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in the capital.
While his unique proposals have earned him his current popularity, Ishihara has yet to carry out most of the initiatives, Mikuriya said.