When I first met Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo, during a trip to Japan in February, I was immediately struck by how her vision was fixed on the future. She has both ambition for Tokyo and an acute awareness of the challenges it faces, including addressing climate change, supporting the new digital economy and making her city more sustainable and inclusive.
Our two cities—Paris and Tokyo—have been linked since 1982 by a friendship and cooperation pact that grows stronger every year. I am happy to continue this alongside Koike, working to improve our air quality and develop innovative ways to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which I hope to bring to Paris in 2024, after Tokyo.
In politics and in business, power is often exercised by men, while women must struggle to be heard. As the first female governor of Tokyo, whose GDP rivals that of a big country like Russia, Koike is a trailblazer and an example for Japanese women—and women all around the world.
Hidalgo is the mayor of Paris
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