Japan's Most Popular Politician Defects From Ruling Party
- Tokyo’s first female governor to lead new political group
- Sets stage for battle with Abe’s LDP in Tokyo city election
This article is for subscribers only.
Japan’s most popular politician resigned from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party, setting the stage for a potentially damaging local election confrontation after she thrashed his candidate in the race to become Tokyo governor last year.
Yuriko Koike said Thursday that she would leave the Liberal Democratic Party to lead a political group she set up to contest the city’s assembly elections in July. “This makes it clear that it’s a fight between Tomin First and the Tokyo branch of the LDP,” she said at a party rally.