Tokyo, Nov 14 (AFP) Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, onceseen as a possible first Japanese female prime minister,stepped down as leader of her party today after suffering acrushing election defeat last month.
Vowing to do away with "old politics," the charismaticformer television anchorwoman launched a new party inSeptember that aspired to offer an alternative to the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party and its leader PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe in the October 22 snap elections.
Her new "Party of Hope" fielded 235 candidates for thepoll but won a mere 50 seats while Abe's ruling coalitiongrabbed a two-thirds majority.
Koike's support imploded partially because she failed tostand herself in the election -- confusing voters who did notknow who would be premier if she won.
In opinion polls conducted by the Sankei Shimbun at theweekend, support for her party dropped to 3.9 per cent from9.5 per cent last month, with more than 77 per cent ofrespondents calling on her to concentrate on her job as Tokyogovernor.
"Stepping down as the head, I want to support you in anappropriate capacity," Koike told a party conference after itselected its executive members.
Koike said she would stay within the party while focusingon her job as governor of Tokyo, with the capital set to hostthe Summer Olympics in 2020.
"I have finished my responsibilities as the founder," shetold reporters.
"As governor I will put the metropolitan administrationfirst and cooperate with lawmakers of a reborn Party of Hope,"she added.
The 65-year-old was elected Tokyo governor last year, oneof several jobs the trailblazer has been the first woman tofill.
She once complained that Japan has not just a glassceiling but an "iron plate" holding women back.
The creation of the "Party of Hope" sent shockwavesthrough Japanese politics and caused the immediate implosionof the main opposition party, as scores of members pinnedtheir colours to the Koike mast.
But critics attacked her both for lacking a clear policyplatform and for taking a dictatorial approach to the newparty -- she reportedly forced potential members to sign apledge that was leaked to the media.
"It was a complete defeat," Koike admitted after theelection, acknowledging she had been guilty of "arrogance".
Since she first won an upper house seat in 1992, Koikehas frequently changed political affiliations but alwaysstayed close to powerful bosses.
She joined the LDP in 2002, and became environmentminister in 2003 and the first woman defence minister in 2007during Abe's first short stint as a prime minister.
In 2016, she defied LDP leaders and won a landslidevictory against the party's candidate in the Tokyogubernatorial election, portraying the long-governing party asbeing controlled by secretive, wasteful bosses. (AFP)KIS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.