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 ...

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, 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 ...

, he was chosen as the final torchbearer for the National Sports Festival when it was held in

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 ...

while he was a senior at Gifu Prefectural Senior High School. He entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo 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 ...

(MITI) in 1971.

Career in National Government

During his time at MITI, he was sent to study at the École nationale d'administration in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. 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 ...

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 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 A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Yoriko Kawaguchi is a Japanese politician. Born in Tokyo, she holds a BA in international relations from the University of Tokyo, and an MPhil in economics from Yale University, where she became a member of President's Council on International Activities. Curre ...

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 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

, 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 Al ...

, 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 coalit ...

, Hajime defeated newcomer Kazuhiko Kinoshita 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 to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a dem ...

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