A fast-growing challenge by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, often floated as the nation¡¯s first possible female prime minister, to Shinzo Abe¡¯s ruling bloc has highlighted the risk of his gamble on a snap poll as she tries to replicate a historic defeat of his party.
Abe called the Oct. 22 election in the hope his improved ratings and a struggling opposition would help his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition keep its majority in the Lower House, where it now holds a two-thirds supermajority.
But Abe¡¯s bet now looks increasingly shaky, given growing support for Koike¡¯s fledgling Kibo no To (Party of Hope) ¡ª launched this week ¡ª and the opposition Democratic Party¡¯s move to have its candidates leave the party and run on her ticket.
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