Koike camp sweeps Tokyo assembly race, beats Abe's LDP

Gov. Yuriko Koike's new party and allies scored a sweeping victory in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election Sunday, securing an overall majority and dealing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party its worst defeat ever in a Tokyo municipal election.Koike's Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First party) became the biggest force in the assembly with 49 of its 127 seats. Together with allies, including the Komeito party which took 23 seats, the Koike camp won 79 seats.The LDP won only 23 seats, far below its previous record low of 38 in 2009, prompting Hakubun Shimomura, who heads …READ FULL ARTICLE