New party led by Tokyo's Koike pledges to freeze 2019 sales tax hike

A new party led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike unveiled its election platform on Friday, pledging to prevent a planned sales tax hike and debate revising Japan's pacifist constitution.

Koike's Party of Hope, which is challenging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition in the Oct. 22 national election, also vowed to end nuclear power by 2030 amid public safety worries after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.