Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, 71, won her third consecutive election on Sunday.

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday to elect the next Tokyo governor. On July 7, the Election Day, voting was open from 7 am to 8 pm. Early voting began on June 21 and ended on Saturday.

The election is anticipated to focus on the performance of Koike during her eight years leading the metropolitan government.

It is also seen as a proxy battle between Japan's ruling and opposition parties, with Koike, supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito, facing opposition-backed politician Renho.

A record 56 candidates are running in the Tokyo gubernatorial election this year, more than double the number for the 2020 race.

Notable candidates include Toshio Tamogami, former chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force, and Shinji Ishimaru, former mayor of Akitakata in the western Japan prefecture of Hiroshima.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Election Administration Commission, the voter turnout as of 6 pm on Sunday was 33.07 percent, 0.43 percentage points lower than that of the previous election in 2020. The number of voters who cast their ballots in the early voting period was 2,151,251, for a turnout of 18.65 percent.

jiangxueqing@chinadaily.con.cn