"Everybody knows that Koike’s party cannot get more than half the majority vote. So she believes that she can play another role in the political world of Japan, not as the prime minister but as the leader of some party in a coalition that will make up the government," said Takesato Watanabe, a professor from the Department of Media Studies at Tokyo’s Doshisha University.
Watanabe’s comments, on CGTN’s The Point, come as campaigning gets underway in Japan ahead of the elections for the House of Representatives, scheduled to take place on October 22.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leading the Liberal Democratic Party, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike of the newly formed Party of Hope, dominated an eight-way debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on October 8.
After watching the TV debate, Watanabe thinks Koike’s strategy is to form a coalition with other parties.
Tokyo Governor and leader of Party of Hope, Yuriko Koike, gives a speech on the first day of official campaign for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo, Japan, October 10, 2017. /VCG Photo
Tokyo Governor and leader of Party of Hope, Yuriko Koike, gives a speech on the first day of official campaign for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo, Japan, October 10, 2017. /VCG Photo
Koike was elected as the first female governor of Tokyo in August and has often been talked about as a potential candidate to become Japan’s first female prime minister.
However, she is ineligible to run for prime minister as she has repeatedly stated she will not run for the lower house.
Angus Lockyer, a lecturer of Japanese history at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, is at CGTN's The Point program. /CGTN Screenshot
Angus Lockyer, a lecturer of Japanese history at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, is at CGTN's The Point program. /CGTN Screenshot
Angus Lockyer, a lecturer of Japanese history at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said he was suspicious about Koike’s role of changing Japan’s political landscape considering that she is an ex-member of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party.
"Koike seems a very savvy political operator. She has very nice phrases that she uses. But already as the governor of Tokyo, we begin to hear whispers that she governs in a very LDP way. She is not very transparent," he explained.
Takesato Watanabe, a professor from the Department of Media Studies at Doshisha University in Tokyo, is at CGTN's The Point program. /CGTN Screenshot
Takesato Watanabe, a professor from the Department of Media Studies at Doshisha University in Tokyo, is at CGTN's The Point program. /CGTN Screenshot
On the controversial issue of constitutional amendment, both Abe and Koike support revising Article 9 which would officially recognize Japan's Self-Defense Forces as its military.
Takesato Watanabe explained that, "if the Komeito Party gets more than half the votes with LDP, it is not so easy to change the constitution because the members of the Komeito Party stand for the peaceful order."
But he also pointed that, "if the Komeito and the LDP cannot get a majority, Koike’s party will then join it. Then the possibility of amending Article 9 of the Constitution becomes very big."
Angus Lockyer said that constitutional revision was unlikely to occur in the mid-term, but could be a reality in the long term.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gives a stump speech in Yaizu, in central Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 11, 2017, the second day of the official campaigning for the Oct. 22 House of Representatives election. /VCG Photo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gives a stump speech in Yaizu, in central Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 11, 2017, the second day of the official campaigning for the Oct. 22 House of Representatives election. /VCG Photo
Lockyer argued, "If Abe somehow were to proceed with constitutional revision, first I think he would have a domestic crisis on his hands because it is clear that he doesn’t have the majority of the country with him at the moment."
He also noted that any constitutional revision has to proceed in line with a profound understanding of the impact on the rest of the region.
He emphasized that the Japanese government should be aware of the need for regional connections and discussions on the issue.
The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).