Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike plans to run for governor in July as she sets her sights on a third four-year term.
Koike, who was re-elected as an independent in 2020, could make an announcement as soon as Wednesday, sources close to the matter said. Both the Liberal Democratic Party, which has already decided not to field its own candidate, and Komeito are expected to support her.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party are working together to field a candidate to run against Koike. Shinji Ishimaru, mayor of Akitakata city in Hiroshima Prefecture, said earlier this month that he plans to enter the Tokyo governor’s race.
The official campaign for the July 7 elections begins on June 20.
The expected announcement will put an end to rumors circulating in Nagatacho, Japan’s political heartland, that 71-year-old Koike would return to national politics with an eye on the prime minister’s post.
Koike was first elected to the upper house as an LDP lawmaker in 1992 and moved to the more powerful lower house the following year, serving as environment minister from 2003 to 2006 and becoming Japan’s first female defense minister in 2007.
