TOKYO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is expected to announce next month that she will run in the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election, sources with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday.
Koike, 67, whose tenure as Tokyo's first female governor began in July 2016, is likely to announce her candidacy for re-election when the current regular session of the metropolitan assembly ends, the sources said.
In contrast to the previous election, the upcoming July 5 election may see Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) give Koike its full support.
She is expected to campaign on a platform of ensuring the eradication and recovery of the coronavirus pandemic, among others.
Koike, who previously served as Japan's first female defense minister, will also likely look to garner support for her continued efforts for Tokyo to host a successful Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2021, pushed back a year due to the outbreak of the global pandemic.
"My focus now is to take steps to deal with the coronavirus and vitalize the economy once again," Koike told reporters on Wednesday.
The Hyogo Prefecture native, however, did not mention her plan to announce her candidacy and seek another term as Tokyo governor.
Koike, who was elected to the upper house of parliament in 1992 and the lower house a year later, remaining a member of the lower chamber until 2016 when she resigned to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, was viewed by the public as being a proactive "leader" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
While Abe was initially reluctant to declare a state off emergency over the virus, Koike was among the prefectural governors who urged the Japanese leader to issue the emergency declaration.
Koike has been a visible leader throughout the virus outbreak here, which could help her garner further public support, and following the lifting of the virus emergency on Monday swiftly announced a three-staged roadmap for the capital to revive its economic and social activities.
In terms of others who have already announced their candidacy, Koike will be going head-to-head with Takashi Tachibana, head of NHK Kara Kokumin Wo Mamoru To (the party to protect the people from NHK) and Kenji Utsunomiya, who served as president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
Major opposition parties are reportedly struggling to field candidates for this summer's poll. Enditem
