Is Yuriko Koike the Nicola Sturgeon of Tokyo?

Few politicians have come out of the corona crisis as well as Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. As the face of the metropolitan area’s official response to the pandemic, the 68-year-old former cabinet minister has won plaudits for her nightly face-masked updates and guidance briefings. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a landslide in last week’s gubernatorial election.

But with a recent surge in cases in the Tokyo area, Governor Koike has become embroiled in a war of words with the national government that could have long-term implications.

The latest infection figures in Tokyo (which have risen to around 150 cases a day) have alarmed many, but as ever with corona stats, context is everything. The government has quadrupled its testing since April, and the source of the new outbreaks is reassuringly explicable, with many originating in the Kabuki Cho red light district – an area not renowned for its social distancing habits or scrupulous hygiene levels.