Voters in the Japanese capital elected their first woman governor on Sunday (July 31), after two predecessors stepped down over scandals that clouded the city’s preparations to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games.
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Public broadcaster NHK reported that Koike had won over both independents and ruling party supporters.
The 2020 Games, awarded to Tokyo in 2013, have been marred by a series of embarrassing setbacks over stadium construction and the official logo.
Mr. Masuzoe’s predecessor had also had to quit over money-related misdeeds.
As part of this, Koike said she has established teams to investigate existing regulations on the use of the government-owned cars and will seek advice from a third-party panel on how best to cut costs. Official results are expected by Monday.
The major challenge facing the victor is managing the run-up to Tokyo’s troubled hosting of the 2020 Summer Olympics, especially reining in soaring costs. Among top candidates are former defense minister Yuriko Koike, journalist Shuntaro Torigoe and former rural governor Hiroya Masuda.
New Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has confirmed she will travel here to attend the Closing Ceremony of Rio 2016 on August 21, where she will receive the Olympic Fag on behalf of the Japanese capital. “I was certain that the time would come when women would flourish”. He denies the allegations. Koike announced its candidacy, even without having the support of her party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Koike, a 64-year-old former TV anchorwoman, speaks fluent English and Arabic – the latter acquired as a student in Cairo – and has also served as environment minister.
Koike pledged to loosen regulations to increase the number of day care facilities and early childhood care workers, while Torigoe focused on infrastructure targets such as a requirement that such facilities are included in all new apartment complexes. She has made much of her aim to improve Japanese women’s lot.
Koike was widely seen as the most right-leaning of the three leading candidates.
Like Margaret Thatcher, whom she admires, Ms Koike is self-made and has battled through the almost all-male ranks of her profession.
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Koike entered politics in 1992 after a career as a television news anchor. She is a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party.
