Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s ultimate goal is to become the first female prime minister.

Koike: “I received the feeling that I should promote more reforms and provide more support for people’s daily lives.”

Immediately after her victory in the July 7 gubernatorial election in Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, 71, appeared to be relaxed in front of the cameras.

In a wildly contested election in which a record number of 56 candidates ran for governor, Koike won by a margin of more than 1.25 million votes over Shinji Ishimaru, 41, the former mayor of Akitakada City in Hiroshima Prefecture, who finished in second place.

Since the June 20 announcement, he has made only 12 speeches on the streets. Koike avoided debates with her rival Renho, 56, and made speeches mainly in urban areas, while Koike adopted an election strategy that was a specialty of the late former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, by visiting remote islands and county areas in the early stages of the campaign,” said a desk clerk of a national newspaper’s political section.

In the April issue of this year’s monthly Bungei Shunju magazine, Toshiro Kojima, a former close aide and roommate of his while studying in Egypt, once again denied that he had graduated at the top of his class from Cairo University. Mr. Kojima has even filed criminal charges. Although the election took place amidst a resurgence of “academic fraud allegations,” there was no impact on the number of votes cast.

Nevertheless, there were some nervous moments. A senior member of the Tokyo Metropolitan People’s First Association, for which Koike serves as a special advisor, revealed, “I was told by a journalist at Hachijojima Airport that the president had been arrested by a reporter.

When a reporter questioned him about his educational background at Hachijojima Airport, Koike replied, “Are you a member of the Tsubasa Party? Koike replied, “I’m a member of the Tsubasa Party. It was a gaffe, and I was worried that it might lead to trouble. However, his victory this time must have deepened his confidence that he can win even if there is a bit of a scandal.

It was in October 1973 that Mr. Koike transferred to Cairo University, which has become a point of contention in the issue of academic fraud. In his book, in which he recalled his life as an exchange student, he included an episode in which he climbed to the top of the pyramids and made tea while wearing a furisode kimono to commemorate his graduation, complete with a photograph.

After returning to Japan in December 1976, she worked as an Arabic interpreter. In 1979, he began his career as a newscaster, and in 1988 he became the main newscaster of “World Business Satellite” (TV Tokyo). It was in 1992 that his career as a “political migratory bird” began.

I joined the Japan New Party, which was formed by former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa (86). I ran for the upper house election that year in the proportional district and was elected for the first time, but I came in second on the proportional list behind Mr. Hosokawa. This caused a backlash from the members who had been involved in the party since its formation.

The following year, in 1993, he switched to the House of Representatives. After serving in the New Frontier Party, the Liberal Party, and the Conservative Party, he joined the LDP in 2002.

He was favored by the powerful of the time, including Hosokawa, Ozawa Ichiro (82), Mori Yoshiro (86), and Koizumi Junichiro (82), and steadily rose through the ranks. In 2007, she was appointed Minister of Defense, and in ’08, she ran for President of Japan, and she left behind a string of achievements that were crowned with the title of ‘first woman. It can be said that she not only moved from one political party to another, but was also adept at riding the currents of the times,” said a veteran LDP secretary.

In 2004, Koike became the first woman governor of Tokyo. Since then, Koike has continued to look “up. That is why rumors about her “return to national politics” circulate whenever a lower house election is held.

Possibility of ‘The Great Game’

But the hurdles to a return to national politics continue to rise.’ Even after leaving the LDP after the Tokyo gubernatorial election in 2004, he remained in touch with former secretary-general Toshihiro Nikai, 85, with whom he had worked in the Shinshinshin and Conservative parties. However, now that Mr. Nikai has announced his retirement at the end of his term, there are no new backers in sight, whether from the ruling or opposition parties. Journalist Tetsuo Suzuki explains.

It is said that he had a series of meetings with Kōichi Hagiuda, 60, chairman of the LDP’s Tokyo Metropolitan Federation, but it is doubtful that he would be able to gather 20 nominees for the presidential election if he were to return to the party now. Rather, she may choose to serve as governor of Tokyo, a position with a budget and authority comparable to that of the national government, while also achieving prime ministerial-level results. The crux of her policy is that Tokyo was the first to do what the national government could not do. A typical example is her reference to building shelters and having Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (66) follow suit.”

However, there is a persistent voice in Nagata-cho that says it is doubtful that Koike will abandon the biggest ambition of her migratory life at this stage. Political journalist Koichi Kakutani said.

Koichi Kakutani, a political journalist, said, “Because of her personality, I don’t think she will spend the rest of her life as governor of Tokyo. This is even more so when Yoko Kamikawa, 71, minister of foreign affairs, and Sanae Takaichi, 63, minister of cabinet office in charge of special missions, are said to be the first female candidates for prime minister. The late former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara abruptly resigned in the middle of his fourth term. He returned to national politics and formed a new party.

What lies at the root of Koike’s lust for power? Nonfiction writer Taeko Ishii explains.

“Because he continues to hold power, he is able to contain the issue of academic fraud. However, once he loses his power and is no longer of any use to the public, what will happen to him? Koike herself knows that better than anyone else. I think he believes that he must continue to hold power in order to prevent those close to him from turning on him.

As he enters his third term, will the governor of Tokyo finish up his administration as he has declared, or will he take on one last great battle?

From the July 26/August 2, 2024 issue of FRIDAY