is a member of the

House of Councillors of Japan The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

from

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. He belongs to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In 1990 he enrolled at

Hokkaido University , or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...

and majored in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. While attending university, he, with five other friends, brought the Soran Festival to Hokkaido, which is now run by the Yasakoi Soran Festival Foundation. The Soran Festival incorporates the traditional

Sōran Bushi is one of the most famous traditional songs and dance (''min'yō'') in Japan. It is a sea shanty that is said to have been first sung by the fishermen of Hokkaido. The commonly known version of the song and dance is called and was created in ...

song and dance. In 1998 he was elected Director of the Yasakoi Soran Foundation.　　He has received the Japan Event New Theme Prize, the Suntory Area Culture Prize, and the Japanese Lifestyle and Culture Prize, for his founding of the Yasakoi Soran Bushi Festival that has come to represent the city of Sapporo. In 2008 he ran against

Takahiro Yokomichi is a Japanese politician who belongs to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Sapporo, Hokkaidō and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was ele ...

of the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...

for representative of the first district of

. He came in second place with a total of 124,343 votes. . He was elected to the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

in July 2010.

References

External links

*
Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasegawa, Gaku 1971 births Living people People from Kasugai, Aichi Hokkaido University alumni Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians