The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito have been increasingly alarmed by Tomin First no Kai, a political party that has Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike as an adviser, as the regional party made its presence felt in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election with an unexpectedly good showing.
The ruling parties are apparently concerned about the speculations that Koike will use the success of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as a springboard to return to national politics.
On Monday, Koike visited LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai at the party's headquarters to confirm their cooperation after the election.
"The people of Tokyo made a decision, and it was reflected in the number of votes cast [for Tomin First]," Koike told reporters after the meeting.
Earlier that day, she also met with Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi.
Koike made unusual moves throughout the campaign for the metropolitan assembly election. Just before the campaigning kicked off, Koike was hospitalized as a result of excessive fatigue and disappeared from the main political arena. However, she returned in the final stages of campaigning amid growing public concern and sympathy.
On Saturday, the last day of campaigning, she visited Tomin First candidates and stumped for them in front of their supporters, drawing more attention.
Tomin First was initially expected to secure fewer seats and win less than 10, but it secured 31.
"[Koike's support] was a big help in the final stage of campaigning," Yamaguchi said in a BS TV Tokyo program on Monday.
A senior LDP official even expressed admiration for Koike, and said, "If everything went according to her plan, it's quite impressive."
On Monday, Koike dismissed the rumors that she would return to national politics. She emphasized before reporters that she never expressed such an intention.
Still, there is a strong sense of caution within the ruling parties as they still remember being shocked at how close the 2017 House of Representatives election was, as Kibo no To, which was founded by Koike, joined forces with the opposition Democratic Party, creating a "Koike boom" at that time.
But the ruling camp finally turned a tailwind into a headwind after Koike rejected liberal-minded DP members with her "logic of exclusion," which alienated the public.
Regardless of her failure in 2017, the latest Tokyo metropolitan election has shown once again that she has political clout.
A former Cabinet member of the LDP said that Koike may garner many votes if she called for electing the first female prime minister in her lower house election campaign.
In the meantime, some LDP members have been trying to win over Koike. Nikai has been meeting with Koike on a regular basis, apparently in an attempt to build a strong relationship and explore the possibility of bringing Koike back to the LDP. With the aim of keeping Koike as an option to be a potential prime minister, Nikai has nothing but positive things to say about Koike, telling those around him that she is "doing a good job."
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