Japanese rival politicians agree to join forces to make 2021 Olympics happen

Tokyo’s newly reelected governor Yuriko Koike and her political rival, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have agreed to cooperate on handling the coronavirus outbreak to safely hold the Olympics next year.

Koike won her second term Sunday in an overwhelming victory buoyed by public support for her handling of the pandemic despite a recent rise in infections in the capital region.

Abe congratulates Koike for her victory and said, “Gov. Koike and I will have to cooperate more closely than ever.”

Koike says her most pressing task is to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and asks for Abe’s support.

“I will firmly overcome the pandemic with the help of the power of the government, and lead to the Olympics and Paralympics as a proof of our victory,” Koike says.

— AP