Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike yesterday won a second term to head the Japanese capital, buoyed to victory by public support for her COVID-19 pandemic handling, despite a recent rise in infections that has raised concerns of a resurgence of the disease.
In her victory speech, Koike pledged to do her utmost to take measures to protect Tokyo residents amid the pandemic.
“The most pressing task is coronavirus measures,” she said. “Now is a very important time to prepare for a possible second wave, and I will continue to firmly take steps.”
Photo: AP
Japan Broadcasting Corp said its exit polls showed that 74 percent of respondents supported Koike, with 63 percent saying they approved of her handling of the coronavirus crisis.
The first woman to head Tokyo, Koike, 67, is viewed as a potential candidate to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when his term ends in September next year.
For now, she says she is focused on protecting the lives of the 14 million people in Tokyo, a megacity with a US$1 trillion economy.
“Fighting against the coronavirus for the residents of Tokyo is my first and foremost responsibility,” she said on the eve of the election.
In her campaign message online, Koike pledged to balance disease prevention and the economy under Tokyo’s “new normal.”
Tokyo’s infections late last month started to rebound to reach 131 confirmed cases on Saturday, topping 100 for a third straight day and hitting a two-month high.
New daily cases have also spiked in the past few weeks nationwide to about 19,700, including 977 deaths.
Koike’s challengers included popular actor-turned-politician Taro Yamamoto and veteran lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya.
Yamamoto wanted to cancel the Tokyo Olympics — which were postponed from this summer to next summer — and use the funds to help people hurt by the coronavirus crisis.
Utsunomiya called for better welfare support for a more inclusive and diverse society.
Koike’s victory was expected, with a recent poll by the Mainichi newspaper having her leading her opponents by a wide margin.
Outside a polling station in downtown Tokyo, retiree Hidekazu Tamura said he voted for Koike because of her effort to secure the Olympics.
“I say no to anyone who is against the Olympics,” he said.
Another voter, Yojiro Tsuchiya, said he does not think Koike has addressed growing concerns about the latest jump in infections.
Among other things, Koike has said Japan should have its own version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She also tried to gain public understanding for a simpler version of the Tokyo Olympics after the Games were postponed.
Although Koike has not fully delivered on promises to Tokyo residents to relieve congestion on commuter trains, ensure adequate availability of child and elderly care facilities and end overwork, even her critics have generally lauded her handling of the pandemic.
That is in sharp contrast to Abe, who has been criticized for doing too little, too late.
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