Tokyo elects its first female Governor
Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:03:am World
2.7K By Buchi Obichie
64 year old, Yuriko Koike, the former Defense Minister of Japan, has been elected as Governor of Tokyo; making her the first woman to occupy the office.
Koike, fluent in English and Arabi, was a journalist, before venturing into politics.
Ms Koike, politician Hiroya Masuda and journalist Shuntaro Torigoe were the 3 front-runners at Sunday's election, which had 21 contenders.
She received more than 2.9 million votes, beating her opponents by a wide margin.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Election Administration Commission, Mr Masuda obtained nearly 1.8 million votes while Mr Torigoe received 1.3 million.
Koike is a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but ran as an Independent candidate, when she did not receive an endorsement from the party. Even though women have previously been elected to Governorships in Japan, her victory marks the first time a woman would be elected to lead Japan's capital city and the nation's capital, Tokyo.
One of her key challenges will be curbing the financial problems plaguing Tokyo's preparations to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
Both her predecessors resigned over funding scandals.
Speaking to a crowd of cheering supporters, after her victory, she said, "I will lead Tokyo politics in an unprecedented manner, a Tokyo you have never seen.
"While feeling the weight of this result, I want to thoroughly push the metropolitan Government forward as the new Governor."
Koike, fluent in English and Arabi, was a journalist, before venturing into politics.
Ms Koike, politician Hiroya Masuda and journalist Shuntaro Torigoe were the 3 front-runners at Sunday's election, which had 21 contenders.
She received more than 2.9 million votes, beating her opponents by a wide margin.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Election Administration Commission, Mr Masuda obtained nearly 1.8 million votes while Mr Torigoe received 1.3 million.
Koike is a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but ran as an Independent candidate, when she did not receive an endorsement from the party. Even though women have previously been elected to Governorships in Japan, her victory marks the first time a woman would be elected to lead Japan's capital city and the nation's capital, Tokyo.
One of her key challenges will be curbing the financial problems plaguing Tokyo's preparations to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
Both her predecessors resigned over funding scandals.
Speaking to a crowd of cheering supporters, after her victory, she said, "I will lead Tokyo politics in an unprecedented manner, a Tokyo you have never seen.
"While feeling the weight of this result, I want to thoroughly push the metropolitan Government forward as the new Governor."
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