is a Japanese politician currently serving as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, one of the special wards of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Yoshizumi grew up in Shinjuku, attending Okubo Elementary School, Toyama Junior High School, and Hiroo Senior High School. He graduated from the law faculty of

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

in 1996, and began his political career as a secretary for Diet member

Kaoru Yosano (August 22, 1938 – May 23, 2017) was a Japanese politician. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Sunrise Party of Japan and former member of the House of Representatives, serving his ninth term in the Lower House represe ...

. Yoshizumi was elected to the Shinjuku municipal assembly in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and re-elected in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. He was then elected to the Tokyo metropolitan assembly in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and re-elected in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. He became mayor of Shinjuku in November 2014. While Yoshizumi is currently not affiliated with a political party in his capacity as mayor, he has been supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, which he officially represented in the municipal and metropolitan assemblies. His LDP supporters include

Miki Yamada is a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. She was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo and received an LLB from the University of Tokyo, following which she joined the Ministry of ...

, Keizo Takemi,

Masaharu Nakagawa Masaharu Nakagawa may refer to: *Masaharu Nakagawa (House of Representatives) is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Matsusaka ...

and

Tamayo Marukawa is a Japanese politician and former announcer of TV Asahi, who serves as a member of the House of Councillors of the National Diet (parliament of Japan). She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. She served as the head of the Women's Af ...

. In 2015, Yoshizumi named

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

as the official "tourism ambassador" of Shinjuku in connection with the opening of the new Toho commercial complex in Kabukicho, which features a prominent Godzilla statue. Yoshizumi called the character "the pride of Japan." In 2016, Yoshizumi presided over the introduction of public bicycle rental service in Shinjuku.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshizumi, Kenichi Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians 1972 births Living people Members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Mayors of places in Tokyo Nihon University alumni People from Shinjuku