In latest twist in Japan election drama Tokyo's Koike says won't seek seat
Kim Kyung-Hoon Koike
Speculation has persisted that  Koike   a former LDP member and defense minister  would resign to run for a seat in parliament needed to make a bid for the premiership.
“I have been saying I will not run for the election from the beginning ”  Koike  said in an interview with the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.
If  Koike  does not personally contest this election  then analysts believe she would hope her party positions itself to win the next national poll  and that she gains a voter boost from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But  Koike ’s new Party of Hope - launched just last week as a “reformist  conservative” alternative to Abe’s equally conservative LDP - has clouded the outlook amid signs voters are disillusioned with Abe after nearly five years in power.
 Koike ’s dilemma was whether to run for a seat now and face a backlash from voters for quitting as governor little more than a year since she defied the LDP to run successfully for the post  or risk letting a shot at the top job slip through her fingers.
“ Koike  is tough   she ’s resilient and  she  can tap into the fact that Abe’s negative ratings are pretty high and a lot of people out there are unhappy with him ” Kingston said.
Speculation has persisted that  Koike   a former LDP member and defense minister  would resign to run for a seat in parliament needed to make a bid for the premiership.
“I have been saying I will not run for the election from the beginning ”  Koike  said in an interview with the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.
If  Koike  does not personally contest this election  then analysts believe she would hope her party positions itself to win the next national poll  and that she gains a voter boost from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But  Koike ’s new Party of Hope - launched just last week as a “reformist  conservative” alternative to Abe’s equally conservative LDP - has clouded the outlook amid signs voters are disillusioned with Abe after nearly five years in power.
 Koike ’s dilemma was whether to run for a seat now and face a backlash from voters for quitting as governor little more than a year since she defied the LDP to run successfully for the post  or risk letting a shot at the top job slip through her fingers.
“ Koike  is tough   she ’s resilient and  she  can tap into the fact that Abe’s negative ratings are pretty high and a lot of people out there are unhappy with him ” Kingston said.