Politics & Government

Koike to Run for Third Term in Tokyo Governor Election

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:59 JST, May 25, 2024

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is likely to run for a third term in the Tokyo gubernatorial election on July 7.

The 71-year-old Koike is expected to run as an independent candidate for the election which has an official campaign period that begins on June 20.

Sources close to Koike said that she is making arrangements to announce her candidacy at the regular session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly which opens on May 29.

The sources said that Koike has already begun work on her manifesto. They said that she intends to continue to focus on decarbonization, strengthening Tokyo’s international competitiveness, and measures responding to the declining birthrate and aging population.

Koike served as an environment minister and a defense minister while being a member of the House of Representatives in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She was first elected governor of Tokyo in July 2016.