Tokyo Governor Koike to run for re-election while people wait for 100,000 yen support
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
In a move expected, the Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will run for a second term. This relates to the gubernatorial election that will take place on July 5. However, while she promises a bright future, Tokyoites are still waiting for emergency aid because of the economic impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Ironically, Koike is promising to continue to revive the economy of Tokyo after the coronavirus. Yet, for poorer people, then what happened to the 100,000-yen economic support promised by the national government?
Hence while Koike, like Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is extremely rich she doesn’t understand the urgency of people on the margins. Therefore, why can’t the various Tokyo wards pay people at the height of the coronavirus crisis – rather than after?
Koike said, “It was about four years ago, in 2016, that I stood here and announced my bid for governor… I carry the same feelings now as I did that day, the urge to be part of the city’s progress toward a better future for the capital’s residents.”
However, during the initial period of the coronavirus crisis, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics distracted Abe and Koike. Thus neither appeared sincere and both insisted the games would go ahead even in early March when it seemed impossible.
Koike is also playing the “female card” but the coronavirus is a concern in the sexual entertainment district of Kabukicho (Shinjuku). The Tokyo Metropolitan Government landmark building is located ironically in the same Shinjuku district.
Her appeal of increasing the number of hospital beds and other areas related to a possible second wave of the coronavirus is equally being focused on throughout Japan. Meanwhile, promising to prioritize the lives of Tokyoites, when the various wards can’t even pay people 100,000-yen in emergency support, sounds hollow for the marginalized.
Despite everything, it would be a shock if Koike lost the election given her status within the city. Of course, a political Black Swan could develop just like the virus. However, it would be a shock if Koike lost to relatively unknown individuals.
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