1. Yuriko Koike is a Japanese politician, who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016.
45 Facts About Yuriko Koike
1. 2.
Yuriko Koike was elected Governor of Tokyo in 2016, becoming the metropolis' first female governor.
3.
Yuriko Koike ran in the 2008 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, becoming the first woman to run for the leadership of a major Japanese political party, however she came in third place losing to Taro Aso.
4.
In 2017, Yuriko Koike left the LDP amid much media attention and launched two parties: the national party, Kibo no To and the regional party Tomin First no Kai.
5.
However, Yuriko Koike continues to endorse and campaign for Tomin First candidates in Tokyo and the party still makes frequent use of her image and policies.
6.
Yuriko Koike has come under some scrutiny from Japanese liberals and Koreans in both Japan and Korean Peninsula for her refusal to acknowledge the occurrence of 1923 Kanto Massacre, which mainly targeted ethnic Koreans, as well as her association with groups that are often labeled anti-Korean.
7.
Yuriko Koike was born on 15 July 1952 in Ashiya near Kobe in Hyogo, Yuriko Koike went to Konan Girls' Junior and Senior High School for her secondary education.
8.
Yuriko Koike's father, Yujiro Koike, was a foreign trade merchant who handled oil products.
9.
Yuriko Koike was involved in politics, supporting Shintaro Ishihara and the Tatenokai in the 1960s, and ran unsuccessfully for Japanese general election in 1969.
10.
Yuriko Koike began to work as an interpreter of Arabic and later became a journalist, interviewing Muammar Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat in 1978, and becoming a news anchor in 1979.
11.
Yuriko Koike received the Female Broadcaster of Japan award in 1990.
12.
Yuriko Koike has been alleged several times of falsifying her credentials, particularly regarding her graduation from Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt.
13.
Yuriko Koike sent her graduation certificate to the program in response to allegations.
14.
In 2024, the magazine published an article on their website, including a video where Toshiro Kojima, a lawyer and former aide of Yuriko Koike, said that he helped to falsify Yuriko Koike's academic credentials including drafting a fake graduation document.
15.
Yuriko Koike was then elected to the House of Representatives in 1993, representing the Hyogo 2nd district.
16.
Yuriko Koike held this seat in the 2000 election as a candidate of the New Conservative Party.
17.
Yuriko Koike has been a regular contributor to Project Syndicate since 2010.
18.
Yuriko Koike served as the Minister of the Environment and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Jun'ichiro Koizumi.
19.
Yuriko Koike was appointed the first female Minister of Defense in June 2007 during the first term of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but announced in August 2007 that she intended to resign from the post, citing the Aegis classified information leak scandal as a reason.
20.
Yuriko Koike later hinted that the much-publicized fight she had had with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki over a vice-minister replacement was the real reason, as the opposition would use that to oppose a bill on Japan's terrorism laws.
21.
Yuriko Koike stated that she would run "as an LDP lawmaker" but did not obtain the approval of the Tokyo LDP chapter before announcing her candidacy.
22.
The LDP officially endorsed Hiroya Masuda, and its Tokyo chapter issued a notice that any members supporting Yuriko Koike would be punished.
23.
Yuriko Koike was elected Governor of Tokyo on 31 July 2016, becoming the first woman in the post.
24.
On 21 August 2016, at the 2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Yuriko Koike received the Olympic Flag, via Thomas Bach, from the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes.
25.
On 31 May 2017, in advance of the upcoming local elections, Yuriko Koike resigned from the Liberal Democratic Party and officially became the leader of Tomin First no Kai.
26.
Yuriko Koike founded the group in 2016 in preparation for the elections and formed an alliance with Komeito in an effort to secure a governing majority in Tokyo's parliament.
27.
Yuriko Koike joined Shinzo Abe's cabinet, where the country led the government response to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, as well as the postponement of 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics to 2021.
28.
Yuriko Koike served as governor during the successful completion of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.
29.
On 14 August 2022, Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan paid a working visit to Japan to meet with his counterpart from Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, to discuss the potential for cooperation in several fields, including for environment-friendly public transportation.
30.
However, Baswedan did invite Yuriko Koike to attend the Urban 20 forum as a G20 side event in Jakarta at the end of August 2022.
31.
Yuriko Koike later noted that Tokyo and Jakarta were sister cities, with longstanding relations.
32.
Yuriko Koike announced on 29 August 2022 that Tokyo would begin implementation of the world's fastest mobile internet network.
33.
Yuriko Koike ran her platform based on seven zeros, which were basically socio-economic problems faced by residents of Tokyo.
34.
Yuriko Koike is one of the main figures in Japan's right-wing populist camp.
35.
Yuriko Koike expressed the idea of introducing a carbon tax in 2005 so that Japan might achieve the goals of the Kyoto Protocol.
36.
Yuriko Koike is against the use of biofuels made from food crops.
37.
Yuriko Koike is known to have powerful ties to other large conservative political groups.
38.
Yuriko Koike has since justified this by saying that whether a massacre occurred is a matter of historical debate.
39.
Yuriko Koike suggested that the prime minister revise the interpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan to enable the government to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
40.
Yuriko Koike has supported the United States and the War on Terror and opposes the Japanese government's tradition of UN-centered foreign policy.
41.
Yuriko Koike has actively promoted Japanese pop culture, appearing in cosplay as Sally from Sally the Witch in 2015, and stating during her 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial campaign that she wanted to turn all of Tokyo into an "anime land".
42.
Yuriko Koike initiated "Jisa Biz" in July 2017 to promote remote work and staggered work times to reduce traffic congestion during the morning rush hour in Tokyo.
43.
In 2017, Yuriko Koike launched and led a new national political party.
44.
Yuriko Koike was opposed to it as an advocate of the environment.
45.
Yuriko Koike did not join any successor party to the Party of Hope at its April 2018 dissolution.