Koike’s new party to announce DP-linked candidates next week

October 1, 2017

TOKYO- Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's Kibo no To (Party of Hope) will announce as early as mid-next week the names of Democratic Party members who will run in the upcoming House of Representatives election as official candidates of the new party, a key Kibo no To member said Saturday.

Kibo no To, launched by Koike earlier this week, plans to release early next week the first list of official candidates excluding DP members.

To announce the second list in the middle of the week, the new party will speed up screening of applicants from the DP, which has given up fielding its own candidates in the Oct. 22 election, Masaru Wakasa, a close aide to Koike, said in a television program.

Koike has said not all DP applicants can get her party's tickets, stressing the importance of policy conformity.

After meeting with DP election chief Koichiro Gemba later the same day, Wakasa told reporters that the first list will contain more than 50 names and be made public on Monday. Jiji Press