Elected as the first woman Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike is a prominent politician that has been particularly active on environmental and gender equality issues. Born and raised in Ashiya, Hyōgo, a wealthy, small, city near Kobe, Governor Yuriko received her academic training from American University in Cairo, Egypt, with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Initially worked as an interpreter on Arabic, she later became a journalist and received the Female Broadcaster of Japan Award in 1990.
Yuriko joined politics and served as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 1993 to 2016, when she resigned to run in the Tokyo gubernatorial election. Her intention to run under the banner of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had a rocky start after failing to get an approval of LDP Tokyo Chapter. But that did not deter her from campaigning for the position. With the support from other prominent LDP members, Yuriko was successfully elected into the office in July 2016.
Governor Yuriko is a liberal and courageous politician. Promoting better environment is one of her top priorities as demonstrated in a number of policies and initiatives that put environment and sustainable development at heart. These include her plan to reduce Tokyo’s trashes, currently stands at 300,000 tons, by half in 2030. By the same year, at least 50% of all new vehicles sold in the capital city should have zero emission. Moreover, Tokyo plans to introduce electric motorcycles to its emergency fleet that provides first-aid during upcoming big sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympics Games in 2020. Last but not least, Tokyo has issued green bonds in to promote financing for environment measures, the first such initiative nationwide.
Driven by her own experience, Governor Yuriko is strongly committed to advance the status of women in politics and wider professional world. In promising the pursuit of women-friendly policies, she once stated that “I believe that pushing policies for women will be good for Tokyo and bring happiness to the capital.” Her basic principles and stance regarding political reform are encompassed by “The 5 Cs: Check, Challenge, Change, Creative and Communication”
