Political observers bristled and buzzed earlier this month when Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First) — a regional party founded in 2017 by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike — created a national party, First no Kai, to field candidates in the Lower House election on Oct. 31.
The buzz fizzled out when First no Kai announced Friday it would not run in the upcoming poll, saying that it would instead focus its efforts on the next national election.
For Koike, whose unspoken desire to become prime minister is one of the worst-kept secrets in Japanese politics, the formation of a new party on the eve of a pivotal election had seemed like the perfect path back to the national stage.