Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is biding her time in announcing participation in the next gubernatorial election, dashing expectations that she would throw her hat in the ring on Wednesday.
Over 20 candidates, including such notables as Renho and Shinji Ishimaru, have already indicated they will run in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive race, with voting set for early July.
Koike, the 71-year-old incumbent just finishing her second term, did not formally announce her intent to run at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting on Wednesday despite indications that she might.
On Tuesday, she received requests from Komeito and Tomin First no Kai, her regional party, to declare her candidacy. The heads of 52 wards and municipalities in Tokyo — out of a total of 62 — also signed on to the request.
Wednesday marked the first day of the last assembly meeting of the governor’s current term. The session runs through June 12.
Opposition lawmaker Renho on Monday announced her intention to run in the election, which has heightened expectations for a competitive battle between two high-profile female politicians.
Koike not formally announcing her candidacy — despite hinting that she is most likely planning to run for a third term — could be part of her strategy.
Political scientist Yasushi Aoyama, a former Tokyo vice governor, argues that Koike might be trying to attract some attention by not making an announcement, “leaving everyone on their toes questioning when she will do so.”
The Tokyo gubernatorial race, involving as many as 10 million voters, tends to be a “popularity contest,” he added.
“It's not an election where voters listen and make a decision. They can only get information about the candidates through the media,” Aoyama said.
“Koike is in an advantageous position where she is already a very well-known figure, and it's a known fact that she is most likely running in the gubernatorial election, so she can choose to formally announce her candidacy whenever she wants to, and it's completely up to her if she wants to announce it right after Renho or not,” he said.
Aoyama said that she could even wait until a week before the election process kicks off to do so.
In the last election, Koike declared her candidacy only six days shy of the start of campaigning.
She could announce her candidacy between now and June 20, including at the governor’s news conference held every Friday or during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly sessions.
Renho, after making her rounds to exchange remarks with members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) in the Tokyo assembly on Wednesday, said that she too had expected Koike to announce her candidacy at the assembly meeting given media reports about such a likelihood.
She added that Koike’s remarks in the assembly was a “monotonous reading of her script and lacked passion.”
The 56-year-old CDP lawmaker currently represents the Tokyo district in the House of Councilors in her fourth term in parliament. While she is receiving support from the CDP and the JCP, Renho plans to run as an independent.
Ishimaru, the 41-year-old mayor of the city of Akitakata in Hiroshima Prefecture, is another notable candidate in the running so far. Although he represents a small city, he has gained popularity due to his online presence.
Others in the race include 75-year-old Toshio Tamogami, who is a former Chief of Staff of the Air Self-Defense Force, and television and radio personality Kuniaki Shimizu, 73.
Official campaigning for the election begins on June 20, with polling day set for July 7.
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