Tokyo Governor Koike Secures Third Term with 43% of the Vote...

The Rival Candidate Renho Ranks 3rd with 19% Vote Share
Fails to Establish a Two-Front Competition

Koike Yuriko (小池百合子), Governor of Tokyo (Photo by Bloomberg News).

Incumbent Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (71) secured a third term in the Tokyo gubernatorial election.

According to NHK, vote counting was completed around 5 a.m. on the 8th, with Koike receiving approximately 2.918 million votes, confirming her third-term victory. Koike achieved a vote share of about 43% of the total votes cast. NHK exit polls released immediately after voting also predicted Koike’s vote share to exceed 40%, far surpassing former Upper House member Renho and former Hiroshima Prefecture Akitakata Mayor Shinji Ishimaru, who were expected to receive votes in the low to mid-20% range.

Renho, who was noted as Koike’s main rival and a prominent female politician, failed to establish a two-strong-woman contest. Her vote share was about 19%, placing her third. Renho was supported by opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Communist Party, and the Social Democratic Party.

The runner-up in vote share was Ishimaru, who campaigned without backing from established parties but with the help of volunteers. Ishimaru, who worked in finance before being elected mayor of Akitakata four years ago, a relatively short political career, garnered about 24% of the vote. His second-place finish is also seen as reflecting strong public distrust toward established political parties.

Koike, who won her third term, ran as an independent but received support from the ruling camp. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, did not field their own candidates and expressed support for Koike. This continued the record that incumbent governors have always won when running in Tokyo gubernatorial elections.

This election attracted attention with a record 56 candidates running. Voter turnout was 60.62%, up 5.62 percentage points from 55.00% four years ago.

Koike, who gained recognition as a TV main anchor, entered politics and served as a member of the Upper House and Lower House, as well as Minister of Defense, Minister of the Environment, and Minister in charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories. She ran as an independent in the 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election and became the first female governor of Tokyo, winning re-election in 2020. She will lead Tokyo for another four years.

During this election period, Koike expressed her intention not to send condolence messages to events commemorating Koreans massacred during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. In the past, she showed tendencies to follow right-wing historical views, including visiting Yasukuni Shrine.