is the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Gifu Prefecture in
Japan, first elected in 2005 and reelected in 2009. A native of
Gifu, Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...
, he was chosen as the final torchbearer for the
National Sports Festival when it was held in
Gifu while he was a senior at
Gifu Prefectural Senior High School. He entered the
Faculty of Law at the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...
and joined the
Ministry of International Trade and Industry
The was a ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and d ...
(MITI) in 1971.
Career in National Government
During his time at MITI, he was sent to study at the
École nationale d'administration
The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. From 1994 to 1996, he served as the Executive Secretary to both Prime Ministers
Tsutomu Hata
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan for nine weeks in 1994. He took over from Morihiro Hosokawa at the head of a coalition government. Shortly after he had been appointed Prime Minister, the Japanese Socialist Party l ...
and
Tomiichi Murayama
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He led the Japanese Socialist Party, and was responsible for changing its name to the Social Democratic Party of Japan in 1996. Upon becoming Prime Minister, he w ...
. Soon after he was appointed
Director-General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...
of the
Economic Cooperation Department in the
International Trade Bureau
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
of MITI and later the Director-General for
Commerce and Distribution Policy in the same ministry. In 2002, he was moved to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to head the
Economic Cooperation Bureau after the move was requested by then
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and the
Office of the Prime Minister. He was put in charge of various reform efforts within the ministry and was chiefly responsible for the
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
updating and reforming
Official Development Assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It ...
(ODA). He left the ministry after he was elected in February 2005 to be the next governor of
Gifu Prefecture, replacing Governor
Taku Kajiwara
Taku may refer to:
Places North America
* the Taku River, in Alaska and British Columbia
** Fort Taku, also known as Fort Durham and as Taku, a former fort of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Taku River
** the Taku Glacier, in A ...
, who had served for 16 years as governor.
2009 Election
With the support of both major political parties, the
DPJ and
LDP, as well as the
New Komeito Party
, formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalitio ...
, Hajime defeated newcomer
Kazuhiko Kinoshita
Kazuhiko ( or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
* , politician
* , a video game producer
* Kazuhiko Chiba, Japanese footballer
* Kazuhiko Hasegawa, film director
* Kazuhiko Hosokawa, professional golfer
* ...
on January 25, 2009. Kinoshita, the head of a local labor consultation center, was supported by the
Japanese Communist Party
The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
.
References
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External links
*
1947 births
Living people
People from Gifu
University of Tokyo alumni
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
École nationale d'administration alumni
Governors of Gifu Prefecture
{{Japan-politician-1940s-stub
Politicians from Gifu Prefecture