Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who took up the position of leader of the new party Kibo no To [Party of Hope], stated during a Fuji TV program on the evening of Sept. 25 that she would vote for Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, in the election for prime minister in the Diet after the House of Representatives election in October.

Since Koike will not be running in the Lower House election, it is believed that her remark was meant to drive a wedge into the coalition government by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. The regional party led by Koike, the Tomin First [Tokyoites First] party, cooperated with Komeito in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July.