TOKYO (JAPAN) – Yuriko Koike, Tokyo’s first woman governor, is confident of cruising to victory in the election scheduled for Sunday. Amidst the rise in infections in the Japanese capital, her handling of the pandemic crisis has boosted her approval.
Koike, 67, won accolades for her direct approach to the crisis which is often compared to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s clumsy approach by critics.
The governor, who earlier served as defence and environment minister, has pledged to prepare the Japanese capital for a second wave of infections. She is also gunning for a scaled down Olympics next year after the games were postponed due to the spread of the virus.
Independent political analyst Atsuo Ito said: “She’ll win by a landslide.” A survey in May placed her ratings at 70%. The prime minister’s Liberal Democratic Party has not fielded a candidate.
Koike, who has honed her communication skills as a former TV anchor, had warned in March that the city was likely to face a lockdown and urged the government to implement an early state of emergency.
With a population of around 14 million, Tokyo has nearly 6,400 out of the 19,000 cases in the country.
The capital on Thursday recorded 107 new cases.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field