Japan's Koike Steps Down as Party Leader to Focus on Tokyo Post
- Lawmaker Tamaki takes over as the leader of Party of Hope
- Party suffered defeat against Abe’s LDP in October election
Yuriko Koike speaks in Tokyo on Sept. 27, 2017.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike resigned as head of a national opposition party Tuesday, after failing to make a dent in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s overwhelming parliamentary majority in last month’s election.
Koike, a former defense and environment minister, announced she was forming the Party of Hope the same day Abe said he was calling the election. She drew an initial burst of support for a "reformist conservative" agenda, including delaying a tax hike, phasing out nuclear power, and encouraging diversity. The bubble burst when she fumbled a merger with the then-main opposition Democratic Party.