Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike expressed Wednesday an intention to distance herself from national politics after her bid to seize power from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by launching the Party of Hope failed dismally in Sunday's general election.
"While feeling responsible for having established the party, I would like to push forward my work as the governor of Tokyo. I will leave national politics to the members of parliament," Koike said at a party meeting after the election.
"I hope lawmakers will decide on important personnel matters, including the party's leadership," the governor also said.
The Party of Hope fielded 235 candidates nationwide in the 465-seat lower house election, but won only 50 seats.
Koike apologized for poorly received remarks that undermined public support for her party.
The Party of Hope absorbed many lawmakers of the moribund Democratic Party. But in doing so, Koike said she would "exclude" left-leaning members due to political differences regarding national security and amending the Constitution.
Earlier Wednesday, Koike told reporters, "The (election) outcome was really severe. There are a lot of factors we have to reflect on." Koike was speaking after returning from Paris where she attended a conference on climate change as the governor of Tokyo.
While some members have called for disbanding the party, the governor ruled out that possibility, saying, "It is not good to disband the party as a way to take responsibility (for the poor election result). We have to bear in mind that close to 10 million people voted for the Party of Hope" in the House of Representatives election.
Not only did Koike's new party fall far short of toppling the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, it even captured fewer seats than the 54 won by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The CDPJ, led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano and now the largest opposition force in the lower house, was created by liberal members of the Democratic Party whom Koike rejected.
