On July 31, Tokyo’s citizenry elected their first-ever female governor, Yuriko Koike. During the short campaign, Koike ran as an independent – she had basically told the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) “I’m standing for Tokyo governor, with your support or without it,” and the LDP chose not to support her. They instead put forward another candidate, and some Tokyo party officials threatened reprisals for any members who backed Koike. Writing for The Diplomatin early August, Ankit Panda reminded us that “Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo’s former longtime governor and ultraconservative LDP stalwart, had warned voters that ‘We cannot leave Tokyo to a woman with too much make-up.’” Read more
