The Tokyo gubernatorial election in July was supposed to be a done deal with Yuriko Koike winning a third term by a landslide. But things took an unexpected turn when Renho, an opposition party lawmaker, threw her hat in the ring.

With her iconic white jacket, her straight-forward personality and a political career that spans nearly 20 years, Renho may be the first candidate with a real chance of dethroning Koike, who has been governor for eight years.

“Anti-Liberal Democratic Party politics, non-Koike governance — I would like to take on the Tokyo gubernatorial election with this stance,” Renho said. “I would like to create a metropolitan government that breaks away from old politics and directs budgets to policies that are truly necessary.”