Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui agreed Saturday that her new Kibo no To (Party of Hope) and his Nippon Ishin no Kai will not challenge each other in single-seat districts in their respective cities in the upcoming snap election.
The effective agreement on election cooperation between Kibo no To and Nippon Ishin in the two megalopolises ahead of the Oct. 22 Lower House election came during their talks Saturday in Osaka, which also included Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura. The three governors agreed to broad cooperation on decentralization, local revitalization and support for seriously tackling political reform before the planned consumption tax hike to 10 percent in Oct. 2019.
"We're not going to stand candidates in Osaka, and we'll compartmentalize candidates with Nippon Ishin in Tokyo and Osaka," Koike said.