In a result viewed as an endorsement of her handling of Tokyo's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] incumbent Yuriko Koike was re-elected for a second term in a landslide,[2] increasing her share of the vote to 59.7%.

[5][6] Koike was widely expected to win a second term, based on opinion polling conducted in the weeks prior the election.

[7] Kenji Utsunomiya, a lawyer and former chairman of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, announced his candidacy on 28 May 2020.

[8] Other notable candidates included Tarō Yamamoto, a former actor who founded the anti-establishment and anti-nuclear energy party Reiwa Shinsengumi in 2019, Taisuke Ono, the former Vice Governor of Kumamoto, whose candidacy received the endorsement of Nippon Ishin no Kai, Makoto Sakurai, a far-right activist and the founder and leader of the Japan First Party, and Takashi Tachibana, the head of the NHK Party and a former member of the House of Councillors.

[8] Tokyo Review described the election as a "circus"[9] viewed by many candidates as marketing opportunity: Four by-elections to the assembly were held together with the gubernatorial election: in Ota Ward, Kita Ward, Hino City and the North Tama 3rd electoral district (=Chofu City+Komae City).