Yomiuri: Tokyo governor Koike says will not run in Japan election

Yomiuri, a Japanese daily, reported on Tuesday, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Head of Party of Hope denied speculation that she would run in elections scheduled later this month, Reuters reports.

Koike’s new Party of Hope has emerged as a growing challenger to the bloc led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since Abe called the snap Oct. 22 poll last month.

Key Quotes:

“I have been saying I will not run for the election from the beginning” 

“I‘m 100 percent not running for the election”