The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan-backed Renho’s third place finish in Sunday’s Tokyo gubernatorial race sent shockwaves through Japan’s largest opposition party, her performance once again raising tough questions about its general election strategy and whether cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party is an advantage or disadvantage.
Renho resigned as Upper House lawmaker and left the CDP to run as an independent in the election, but she still received the support of the party as well as the JCP.
Yet, Renho, who had been considered incumbent Gov. Yuriko Koike’s main rival, ended up finishing in third place with about 1.28 million votes. Koike secured her third term as governor of the nation's capital with 2.92 million votes, while Shinji Ishimaru, the former mayor of Akitakata in Hiroshima Prefecture, came in second with 1.66 million votes.
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