Campaigning Begins for Tokyo Gov. Election

   Tokyo, June 20 (Jiji Press)--The official campaign period for the July 7 Tokyo gubernatorial election started Thursday, with incumbent Governor Yuriko Koike, 71, set to compete with challengers including Renho, 56, who served as administrative reform minister in the administration of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan.
   The focus will be on how to assess Koike's two terms of eight years in office, with debates expected to center on child-rearing support measures and administrative and fiscal reforms.
   Among other candidates are Shinji Ishimaru, 41, former mayor of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, Toshio Tamogami, 75, former Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff, and Kuniaki Shimizu, 73, a television personality.
   The Liberal Democratic Party, a ruling party in national politics, its junior coalition partner Komeito and the opposition Democratic Party for the People back Koike. The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and two other opposition parties--the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party--support Renho.
   The election result is likely to have an impact on the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the strategies of each party for the coming election of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.

(2024/06/20-11:31)

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