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日本首相安倍晋三押注自己强势反弹的支持率，宣布将解散众议院，提前举行大选。但他的劲敌小池百合子来势汹汹，誓要让他的如意算盘落空。小池百合子的参选会给日本政界带来怎样的影响？她有多大的机会成为日本史上首位女首相？
测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：
vest [vest] vt./vi.授权，给与
jittery['dʒɪtəri] adj.战战兢兢的
phase[feɪz] v. 逐步执行，实行
formidable['fɔːrmɪdəbl] adj. 强大的，可怕的
dissolution [dɪsə'luːʃn] n. 分解
阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。
Yuriko Koike vowed to run candidates nationwide and fight for an absolute majority as the popular governor of Tokyo charged into Japan’s snap election with her trademark blend of risk-taking, ruthlessness and anti-establishment political theatre.
A stream of defectors rushed to join her new Party of Hope on Tuesday amid speculation that Ms. Koike herself could yet stand down as governor of the capital in order to run for parliament and make an all-out bid to become prime minister.
Ms. Koike’s dramatic launch has transformed a snap election expected on October 22 from a referendum on prime minister Shinzo Abe — one he was expected to win handily given a large opinion poll lead — to a contest between the country’s two most powerful politicians.
Analysts said Ms. Koike is taking a huge gamble, questioning whether she has the resources for a national campaign, and whether the public will forgive her for treating the Tokyo governorship so casually. But the excitement she has already generated, with Japan’s media framing the election as an Abe versus Koike showdown, suggests Mr. Abe may have miscalculated.
Nine parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, including a deputy minister in Mr. Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic party, have already quit to join the Party of Hope. “I quit my party because politics needs dynamism and that’s what Ms. Koike’s new party will be — a dynamic force for reform,” said Jin Matsubara, a veteran member of parliament and former head of the Democratic party in Tokyo.
The 65 year-old Ms. Koike was an environment minister and defence minister in the LDP before she defied Mr. Abe last summer, ran against his candidate for the Tokyo governorship and won in a landslide. She set up a local party called Tomin First and in July it won a sweeping victory in elections to the Tokyo assembly.
The Party of Hope is an attempt to repeat that success on the national stage. With the LDP holding 28 seats in Tokyo city alone, and another 66 in the wider Tokyo region, Ms. Koike could take a big chunk out of the prime minister’s majority even if her party struggles to go nationwide.
Ms. Koike said the Party of Hope would be dedicated to “politics free of vested interests”, “reform conservatism” and “freedom of information”— a repeat of the anti-establishment platform that brought her success in Tokyo. Many of her political beliefs mirror those of Mr. Abe: she favours constitutional reform and has been a regular visitor to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which commemorates Japan’s war dead, including its war criminals.
In a move that alarmed already jittery LDP members of parliament, Ms. Koike followed up the launch of her party by meeting with Junichiro Koizumi, a reformist prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and one of the country’s most popular elder statesmen. Mr. Koizumi was Ms. Koike’s political mentor and he praised her “guts” when she ran for the Tokyo governorship last year.
Mr. Koizumi is now a campaigner against nuclear power. Ms. Koike said he had offered her encouragement. She said: “We need to present a road map for phasing out nuclear power.” Even tacit support from Mr. Koizumi, who has steered clear of party politics since he retired, would be a powerful electoral asset for Ms. Koike.
So far, Mr. Abe has avoiding any confrontation with Ms. Koike, calling her a “formidable opponent” and declining to criticise her directly. But that will be hard to sustain given Ms. Koike’s own sharp attacks.
“It feels like this is a case of ‘Abe First’, prioritising his own political schedule with the justification for this election coming afterwards,” Ms. Koike told broadcaster NHK. “However, a dissolution is a chance to generate new reforming energy, and I want to prepare us for real reform.”
There have been no opinion polls since Ms. Koike launched her campaign but Mr. Abe may be hoping a public backlash in Tokyo will scare her off.
“I strongly feel the governor has betrayed us,” said Kunihiro Higashimura, head of the Komei party in the Tokyo assembly, where it is in coalition with Ms. Koike. “It’s a very unpleasant feeling. She promised to devote herself to the Tokyo government.”
If the public share that feeling then Mr. Abe will breathe a sigh of relief and go back to crushing the Democrats. If Ms. Koike gains momentum, however, Mr. Abe’s premiership could yet be at risk.
请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：
A. A recent poll shows Party of Hope is leading in Japan’s upcoming election.
B. The Party of Hope won a sweeping victory in elections to the Tokyo assembly.
C. Yuriko Koike created The Party of Hope after she she defied Mr Abe's LDP.
D. The Party of Hope and LDP are Japan’s two most powerful political parties.
答案 (1)
A. will be dedicated to politics free of vested interests.
B. has the dynamism to pursue constitutional reforms.
C. lacks resources for a nationwide electoral campaign.
D. can take a big chunk out of the LDP’s majority in Tokyo.
答案 (2)
A. environment minister.
B. Tomin First's leader.
C. Tokyo Governor.
D. defence minister.
答案 (3)
A. Abe vowed to fight for an absolute majority in the election coming afterwards.
B. Abe is now better placed in the race for the Prime Minister of Japan.
C. Abe has been expected to win the election handily given a large opinion poll lead.
D. Candidates have to submit to Abe's political schedule in the upcoming election.
答案 (4)
(1) 答案：D.The Party of Hope and LDP are Japan’s two most powerful political parties.解释：小池的参选让日本大选变成了国内最有势力的两名政客的抗衡。
(2) 答案：B.has the dynamism to pursue constitutional reforms.解释：松原离开了安倍的自民党加入了希望之党，他认为小池的新政党有推动改革的动力。
(3) 答案：C.Tokyo Governor.解释：去年夏天，小池离开了安倍的自民党，在东京都知事的竞选中大获全胜。
(4) 答案：D.Candidates have to submit to Abe's political schedule in the upcoming election.解释：“感觉就像是‘安倍优先’。为选举找好理由，优先考虑自己的政治时间表。”小池对NHK表示。