Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike ultimately secured a mostly comfortably victory in the capital's gubernatorial election Sunday, securing for herself a third term, but analysts see changes ahead in future votes given the surprisingly strong performance of Shinji Ishimaru, who came in second.
Garnering nearly 3 million votes, or 42.8% of the overall turnout, the 71-year-old incumbent beat 55 other candidates in the contest, which had the largest number of contenders in history.
“The Children First policies that I have worked on until now, as well as efforts to secure more human resources for nursing care with aging of the population set to become even more prominent next year in 2025 — these have been well received by many,” Koike told reporters at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on Monday. “I feel that I have been entrusted with the responsibility to further answer to these expectations.”