(7 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan - 7 July 2024
1. Various of Tokyo's incumbent governor, Yuriko Koike, receiving bouquet from a supporter after exit poll suggested she had won the Tokyo gubernatorial election
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's incumbent Governor:
“(The people of Tokyo) have entrusted me to lead for the third time. I will tackle my third term with all my body and soul.”
3. Koike on stage
4. Koike supporters clapping
5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's incumbent Governor:
“Compared to the rest of the world, the environment here is still not sufficient for women to succeed. I think we need to further reform and upgrade Tokyo.”
6. Koike listening to questions from the press
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's incumbent governor:
“I said in my campaign that I will protect the lives and livelihoods of the people of Tokyo and to protect them from various disasters. In short, defence of the capital. There is no time to spare, not even for a minute or a second for this mission.”
8. Koike listening to questions from journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's incumbent Governor:
“I have experienced many elections, but this was an election campaign like no other. With 56 candidates, including myself, running for the governor's seat, there was a campaign billboard controversy, we received threats, and there was a chorus of jeers in the streets, it was an election campaign like I had never experienced before.”
10. Koike answering question journalists
STORYLINE:
Tokyo's incumbent governor, Yuriko Koike, is projected to win her reelection as head of Japan's influential capital for a third four-year term, according to exit poll results by Japan's NHK national television.
Minutes after the exit poll projecting her victory, Koike showed up at her campaign headquarters in Tokyo and celebrated by thanking the voters who chose her.
She pledged to push for more reforms and support for Tokyo residents.
“I will tackle my third term with all my body and soul,” she said.
The vote on Sunday was seen as a test for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing party, which supports the first woman to lead the Tokyo city government.
Tokyo, a city of 13.5 million people with outsized political and cultural power and a budget equalling some nations, is one of Japan’s most influential political posts.
A record 55 candidates challenged Koike, and one of the top contenders was also a woman - a liberal-leaning former lawmaker who uses only her first name, Renho, and was backed by opposition parties.
A win by Koike is a relief for Kishida’s conservative governing party, which she has long been affiliated with.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, unofficially backed her campaign.
Renho, running as an independent but supported by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party, criticized Koike’s connection with Kishida’s party, which has been hit by a widespread slush fund scandal.
The main issues in the campaign included measures for the economy, disaster resilience for Tokyo and low birth numbers.
When Japan’s national fertility rate fell to a record low 1.2 babies per woman last year, Tokyo's 0.99 rate was the lowest for the country.
Koike’s policies focused on providing subsidies for married parents expecting babies and those raising children.
Koike, a stylish and media-savvy former TV newscaster, was first elected to parliament in 1992 at age 40.
AP video by Ayaka McGill
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
