politics

Koike ahead in polls as Tokyo votes for governor

18 Comments
By Elaine Lies and Ami Miyazaki

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18 Comments
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At least one more election before 2020 regardless of today's election outcome.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

“I often reflect that I’m terrible at traditional Japanese skills like consensus-building, but my passion was stronger,” Koike told a news conference this month.

A huge plus in your favor, and stepping on the toes of the Tokyo LDP, as I suspect they have a pecking order of who they want and where and you over turned the apple cart, another huge plus! I hope you win and win BIG!

At least one more election before 2020 regardless of today's election outcome

And why do you assume this? The typicaly term for gov is 4 years so the next gov election should be held in 2020. not prior. and it would have happened anyway so your comment makes no sense here.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Koike, against the idea of biofuels, supports reforming Japanese textbooks to support a more sympathetic view towards Japan in history, has also supported revising the constitution like Abe, supported Bush's war on terror, supports visits to Yasukuni and goes every year, and...

She's a member of the radical right-wing group, Nippon Kaigi.

If you're thinking you're getting a game changer with her, that's a completely misguided notion.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

She will win because Tokyo people will view her as a female Ishihara.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I still can't understand why the LDP went to all the trouble of opposing their soul mate. But, I know nothing about the intelligence or skill level of these players. I mean, yeah, they're a petty old-guy's club. I know that. So, I do understand but...they have their ideological soul-mate here, Abe's talking points are often about women, yet they blow a chance to support a woman. Weird. But maybe it doesn't matter. Nothing matters when LDP face no national repercussions for failure.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

And Tokyo will return to its position of being the only major city in the world with a reactionary supremacist as leader.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

She will win because Tokyo people will view her as a female Ishihara.

Ishihara was OK although he said lots of dumb things. He got diesel exhaust standards that made cycling in Tokyo much more pleasant. He got street performers legalized. He didn't use the extravagant and wasteful public mansion for the governor. He tried to get major banks based in Tokyo to pay more taxes although the courts slapped him down on this.

The worst thing he did was to get the Olympics for Tokyo. And, he stayed on one term too many.

The dumb things he said did not actually harm anyone. And, being personally wealthy, he did not get caught up in the petty corruption that knocked down two later governors.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Great, another fascist for Tokyo! She might as well set up camp outside Yasukuni. Another disgusting two-faced politician.

Bullfighter:

Your Ishihara lost Tokyoites a lot of money with his hare brain scheme involving ShinGinko Tokyo Bank. And he was never held accountable for this or anything he's screwed up. Sure, the dumb things he's said hasn't harmed anyone.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Koike hasn't given her finger to the LDP, just to the oyajis and those old men are just angry cuz it's a boys club, not because her beliefs are different than theirs. She very much supports their every scary nationalistic view, just not the idea a man should be in charge.

And let's not forget, her father supported that loon Ishihara and the hate group, Tatenokai.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

and stepping on the toes of the Tokyo LDP, as I suspect they have a pecking order of who they want and where and you over turned the apple cart

Falling for an LDP ruse?

Ishihara was OK

Purchasing the Senkakus, anyone?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

bullfighter - interesting comments, but far too light-handed imho.

The dumb things he said certainly did cause harm to others.

His disgusting statement that the tsunami was "divine punishment" should have been enough to have seen him removed from the public eye forever. But No!

His disgusting comments regarding it a sin for infertile women to live long and that "old hags" are an abomination (or the like). Such hurtful comments I can never forget or forgive.

His bank the "Shingin Tokyo" a complete failure resulting in the loss of $1 billion of taxpayers money - and he had the gall to say it's not my problem, I just set it up. I can never forgive him

His disgusting out-control-ploy to buy the Senkakus - which he knew would stir up nationalistic fervor against his hated "Shina" and cause eniormous international problems for his hated Democrat party. The ramiifications of his actions are evident today.

So many more - and many many people have suffered.

Even Koike who holds similar nationalistic reactionary beliefs was berated by him as "Tokyo can't have a thick make-up wearing women as governor"

Enough said.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

His disgusting statement that the tsunami was "divine punishment" should have been enough to have seen him removed from the public eye forever. But No!

Dunno. American Bible bangers say that kind of thing all the time.

His disgusting comments regarding it a sin for infertile women to live long and that "old hags" are an abomination (or the like). Such hurtful comments I can never forget or forgive.

This and his other dumb statements sound far worse in English than they did in the original Japanese. Whenever one of his statements got picked up by the English press, I went to a site that tracked his public statements and looked up the original Japanese. I never found a single one that sounded as strong in Japanese as the English reports.

I even contacted one foreign writer who I knew to be fluent in Japanese as to why he had translated a particular Ishihara statement the way he had. To my surprise, he answered me, and said "I translated it that way because I hate the bastard." In other words, given a range of possible and legitimate translations, he went with the harshest translation possible.

American Bible bangers and Italian politicians say similar things all the time. No one takes them all that seriously. I apply the same rule to Ishihara and other right-wingers and nationalists who say things that get up the nose of the Anglophone chattering classes. I look at what they do, not the dumb things they say.

His bank the "Shingin Tokyo" a complete failure resulting in the loss of $1 billion of taxpayers money - and he had the gall to say it's not my problem, I just set it up. I can never forgive him

Perhaps, but he was trying to help small and medium firms that get the short end of the stick from LDP governments that favor big business. That it racked up the losses it did says more about the regulation of the banking sector in Japan than it does about Ishihara and no one has been able to suggest that he himself profited. Moreover, the Shingin Tokyo fiasco was trivial in terms of banking failures in Japan, the US, and the UK.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

All readers back on topic please. Ishihara is not relevant to this discussion.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope she wins next Sunday. I actually think she hides her liberal intention well. Abe has pick up one this and demoted her when he realised he could not control her. Abe wants women to be more involve. They are involve Just that Abe will not back up his words. Abe will have no influence at all if Kaike-San is elected Governor. Abe does not want a back seat when the Games are on. He want his head everywhere during a election year.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Abe wants women to be more involve. They are involve Just that Abe will not back up his words.

So why didn't the opposition come up with a female candidate instead of a guy older than I am?

William Pesek made a big deal of Abe and the LDP not backing a female candidate despite Abe's talk about women in managerial positions.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/07/22/commentary/japan-commentary/abes-boys-club-makes-mockery-womenomics/

But, he failed to point out that this would have been a perfect opportunity for the opposition to field a female candidate and show it can walk the talk. But, what's it do? Fields a 76 year old guy with zero political experience.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The worst thing he did was to get the Olympics for Tokyo.

Sadly more massive debt for Japan. It didn't have to be that way, but Japan is a very wasteful country now (in terms of money going to 無駄な工事). That means wasteful unneeded construction project.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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