High-profile opposition lawmaker Renho said Monday she will run in Tokyo's gubernatorial election in July, setting the stage for a likely showdown with incumbent Yuriko Koike, who is seeking reelection for her third term.
The bid to run for governor by the 56-year-old House of Councillors member, who belongs to the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, came after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party fared poorly in recent elections, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet unpopular amid a political fundraising scandal that has engulfed the party.
Serving her fourth term as an upper-house member of a Tokyo constituency after first being elected in 2004, Renho could be a leading contender to replace Koike, who is expected to launch a bid in the July 7 election to secure her third four-year term.
The upper house member is known for her combative stance and often blunt remarks, particularly during public discussions about weeding out waste in government programs that took place when the Democratic Party of Japan, a predecessor of the CDPJ, was in power from 2009 to 2012.
"It's my mission to take the lead in resetting the Tokyo government led by Koike, who is a helping hand in the LDP's survival," Renho told a news conference, referring to the incumbent's recent rapport with the ruling party.
Renho said she will run as an independent candidate in the hope of drawing wider support.
The Japanese Communist Party will support Renho in the election, Akira Koike, head of the party's Secretariat, told a press conference.
Born to a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, Renho has also faced scrutiny over her former dual nationality status, which is not allowed under Japanese law. The TV anchorwoman-turned-politician goes by her given name, although her full name is Renho Saito.
She served as administrative reform minister when the DPJ was in power. She became the leader of the then leading opposition party that took over from the DPJ in 2016, but gave up her post following its poor performance in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election the following year.
Yuriko Koike, a 71-year-old adviser to a regional political party and who also served as Japan's first female defense minister, left the LDP to run in her first gubernatorial race in 2016 and beat her rival backed by the party.
She kept her distance from the LDP in the metropolitan assembly but recently worked with the party in some mayoral elections in Tokyo.
With the scandal-hit LDP unlikely to field its own candidate, Koike may explore working with the LDP and its junior coalition ally the Komeito party, according to LDP sources. The governor is expected to stand as an unaffiliated candidate as she did in the past.
The ruling party lost three seats in House of Representatives by-elections in late April and a candidate it backed was defeated by his rival, supported by the CDPJ and another opposition force, in Sunday's gubernatorial election in Shizuoka, central Japan.
At least 20 individuals intend to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, including Shinji Ishimaru, the mayor of Akitakata in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan.
The head of the mountainous city of around 26,000 people has become popular online for his fierce exchanges with a local media reporter, as well as with municipality assembly members during news conferences and council sessions.
Related coverage:
Tokyo Gov. Koike plans to run for third term: source
Japan PM's LDP loses 3 Diet seats to main opposition amid scandal
Opposition-backed candidate wins in Shizuoka governor race
