The answer is no. Period.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike on Thursday once again denied that she will run in a Lower House general election later this month, giving what appeared to be a final answer amid brewing speculation. On the final day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's session, attention was focused on Koike's comments on rumored — but often denied — plans to return to national politics.
Declaring her candidacy while the session was still open would have exposed her to a volley of criticism. Therefore, speculation had been rife that she would wait until the session was over to make a surprise announcement.