Tokyo Gov. Koike to resign as Party of Hope leader

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Due to the poor performance in the general election last month, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will resign as leader of the Party of Hope, local media quoted informed sources as saying Tuesday.

During the election, Koike vowed that the fledgling Party of Hope would wrestle power away from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but only succeeded in winning 50 out of the total 465 seats in the election.

Koike's party performed particularly poorly in the Tokyo metropolitan region.

The Party of Hope, under new leader Yuichiro Tamaki, a fourth-term lower house member, is expected to reveal its new leadership lineup later Tuesday.

Head of Japan's Party of Hope and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike speaks during an election campaign rally in Tokyo, Japan, October 10, 2017. /Reuters Photo

On November 10, Tamaki, 48, was selected as co-leader of the party in a 53 to 39 vote, winning the post over his only challenger Hiroshi Ogushi, a fifth-term lower house member.

Koike had drawn flak for standing in the election as a non-parliamentarian and for remarks she made during campaigning that were described as being arrogant by the public.

Far from toppling the ruling LDP, the Party of Hope ended up conceding ground to the now main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

Tamaki told party lawmakers after he was selected as co-leader that the party needed to "seriously and humbly face up to what happened and ask ourselves why we lost."

He added that he wanted to grow the party into a force that can "open up a future for Japan."

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency