Over the past three months, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura have found themselves in the national political and media spotlight as never before, due to their responses to the coronavirus. As Koike launches her re-election campaign, and as Yoshimura’s local political group Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) turned 10 years old in April, here’s a look at both local leaders, their similarities and differences, and their possible political futures.
Why are the two being compared with each other now?
Because of the way they have created, separately, policies to deal with local outbreaks of the coronavirus, and the ways they have sometimes challenged the national leadership’s handling of the outbreak.