Tokyo governor comes out swinging as Abe caught flat-footed

Sep 26, 2017 | News On Japan

Sep 26, 2017 (Nikkei) - Popular Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's decision to stake out ground opposite the ruling party ahead of next month's lower house election has come as an unpleasant surprise to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who hoped to find common ground with an ideological ally.

After Monday's announcement of her new national party -- Kibo no To, or "Party of Hope" -- Koike met with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who gave Koike her cabinet debut in 2003 as environment minister. The two discussed such issues as using an exit from nuclear power to promote renewable energy, and the governor said Koizumi offered words of encouragement.

In the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial race, Koizumi backed fellow former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, whose platform included an immediate halt to nuclear power as a key plank. Koike -- who joined Hosokawa's short-lived Japan New Party in 1992 -- is adopting an anti-nuclear platform for the just-announced snap election, raising concerns in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that she could work together with the popular Koizumi under the anti-nuclear flag.

Kibo no To will target Koike's existing supporters as well as voters disaffected with both the LDP and the opposition Democratic Party. In a news conference Monday peppered with references to both reform and conservatism, Koike said she established the party "because there's a need for a force for reform with no political shackles, in the truest sense."

With the general election only about a month away, whether the new outfit can recruit enough candidates remains to be seen. The governor said Kibo no To is attracting volunteers from all over Japan, and the party plans to select a mix of neophytes and veterans to run nationwide.

One high-profile defector from the LDP has already come on board. Mineyuki Fukuda, a senior vice minister of the Cabinet Office, joined Kibo no To on Monday. Koike hinted that she might have played a part in Fukuda's departure.

"There are 20 sitting lawmakers planning to participate," a party insider said.

Record Rain Triggers Level 5 Warning in Fukui

Record rainfall caused 19 rivers to overflow across Fukui Prefecture, flooding roads and homes, triggering landslides and temporarily forcing authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain emergency warning from early Sunday morning.

Drones Deliver Supplies to Residents Cut Off by Landslide

Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

Typhoon No. 23 Overtakes No. 22 East of Japan as Both Head North

Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

Nine-Minute Drone Video Shows Scale of Aeon Mall Damage

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Conditions Ease as Typhoon No. 18 Passes Okinawa

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Three Students Swept Out to Sea in Kagoshima

Three teenage boys who went missing after being swept offshore from the coast of Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, on August 28 were found in the sea near the scene on August 29 and confirmed dead.

Foreign Cyclist Suffers Broken Shoulder in Shiga Hit-and-Run

A foreign man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, early on August 29, with police investigating the incident as a hit-and-run.

Bread Dumping Mystery Takes a Twist

A fake video apparently created with generative AI showing a large bear eating piles of sliced bread has spread on social media following a series of illegal bread dumping incidents in Tottori Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to warn that misinformation could cause economic harm.

Teens Arrested for Spraying Fire Extinguishers at Police Station

Three youths, including a high school student and a junior high school student, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing police duties after allegedly stealing fire extinguishers and spraying them toward a police station in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.

Avant-Garde Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days.

Bus Driver Crashes While Shooing Away Mosquito

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured.

Don't Touch Paramedics' Shoes! Kanazawa Warns

Kanazawa's fire department is asking residents not to straighten or rearrange shoes removed by paramedics during emergency calls, warning that the well-intentioned gesture can delay the transport of patients by around 30 seconds and potentially interfere with medical care.

Luxury Watch Theft Carried Out in 10 Seconds

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy.

< 2 3 4 5 >