Voters in Tokyo cast ballots to decide whether to re-elect incumbent conservative as city’s governor

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Voters in Tokyo are casting ballots to decide whether to re-elect conservative Yuriko Koike as governor of Japan’s influential capital for four more years. The vote Sunday is also seen as a test for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing party, which supports the incumbent. Tokyo is a city of 13.5 million people with outsized political and cultural power and a budget equaling some nations. It is one of Japan’s most influential political posts. Among the record 55 challengers to Koike, one of the top contenders is also a woman — a liberal-leaning former parliament member who used only her first name Renho and is backed by opposition parties.