Koike says she will '100%' not run in Oct 22 election

Great, since she has shown historically not to finish the tasks she bring into the limelight and then leaves a mess for someone else to cleanup...Let's just say the last year, 1. the fuss with the Tokyo Olympic facilities and costs. Sure they were absurd but it was getting built on time, now the project is seriously under cut and there may be repercussion as a result 2. the fish market and benzene polluted water soil. Nothing moving on this tasker. Need I go on....

Hey, she is sticking to her word and the pundits complaining can stand that! Better she wait, and even if it means giving up the PM spot (potentially) she still is in a great position as Gov of Tokyo.

She is a political gambler but not a great thinker. It is a dangerous thing to entrust the nation to a person like her. Remember that her career started as a TV caster. Her intelligence is a limited one.

Yeah, until tomorrow.

She needed to add 100% because she knows no one believes her flip flopping

Anybody in a position of power have personal issues that's why they try so hard to get approval from the public. Being the governor of Tokyo one of the biggest city's in the world is probably enough. Trying to be PM of a massively indebted country is a no win situation.

Koike has been getting negative media coverage for saying she would "exclude" candidates who do not agree with her party's policies

Stupidest thing I heard today, right there.

That is a commendable feature of Koike, not something to criticize.

Except that this is Japan and they favor compromise over a straight contest of ideas, which is what normal democracy is supposed to be.

Many liberals balk at those policies

So promote your own policies from a different party!

Except that this is Japan and they favor compromise over a straight contest of ideas, which is what normal democracy is supposed to be.

Eh? If there isn't a contest of ideas, why would you need a compromise?

A 'normal' democracy? What does that mean?

@Jimizo

Normally democracies have parties with different agendas and constituencies, if not different values and ideologies. Ideas for the future compete and there are choices to be made. Here, we see Koike, with the same general agenda as Abe running candidates that were supposed to represent a different choice when actually the politicians have no core beliefs to stick to. The value of consensus is no values. Nothing to believe - just go with what ever looks popular or agreeable.

She's a megalomaniac who become Tokyo Governor not because she wants to help Tokyo but because it was the stone in the river she needed to hop on to reach the other side - the prime minister job.

I would guess she's making a mistake. Politics is timing. It's not for the coy. Her time would be now. A moment like this may not come again and the next election is a political lifetime away.

Eh? If there isn't a contest of ideas, why would you need a compromise?

The compromises should come after the contest of ideas, which is the election, which should be fought among parties having distinct policies. Not different groups all having an inconsistent mix of proponents.

A 'normal' democracy? What does that mean?

It means that votes are garnered by impressing with policy ideas.

Not by trying to be friends with as many people as possible to eliminate the ability of voters to be able to distinguish between the options available, which is the typical way of both the LDP and former DP.

Good idea. She needs to show the result of her current works before going back to national politic scene. Then her party has a chance to replace current second influential party.

100% run away.

Masuzoe got in trouble because he spent public money on his own shopping, the dude before him for receiving large amounts of cash in a bag.

I think Koike can avoid such mishaps.

As UKIP found, one man/woman bands tend not to do very well without the one man/woman.

DPJ found that a multi-man band is useless too, if they can't describe what the band stands for.

True