Tokyo's female governor takes on Japan's old-boy network

TOKYO - Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is challenging Japan's old-boy network in the capital, where she thrashed a ruling party rival to win her post and now aims to lead reform-minded candidates to victory in a citywide July election.

A popular former TV announcer who speaks Arabic and English, Koike is the leader of a city with an economy bigger than that of the Netherlands and a budget on par with Sweden's - and her reformist image has some politicians betting she could become Japan's first female prime minister in a few years.

For now, the former defense minister says her sights are set firmly on a July 2 Tokyo metropolitan assembly poll, where she's targeting a majority for her fledgling "Tokyo Citizens First" party and its allies.