Mayor of Hiroshima is the head of the local government of Hiroshima City. Until 1871,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

was ruled by a feudal prince from the

Asano Asano (written: 浅野, or hiragana あさの) is a Japanese language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Asano clan, samurai family in feudal Japan. ** Asano Naganori, Important historical figure title: Takumi no Kami ** Asano ...

clan, who ruled from Hiroshima Castle. On April 1, 1889, all cities in

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 north ...

were granted a municipality. At this point, all mayors in Japan were appointed by the Ministry of Interior in Tokyo. The first mayor of Hiroshima was

Akira Miki Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

, who remained in office for three months. During the atomic attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, mayor

Senkichi Awaya was a Japanese public official who was killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima while he was its mayor. He was one of the key figures in the historic clash between the Japanese police and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1933. He is also kn ...

was killed, and the municipal council had to appoint transitional mayor

Shigetada Morishita (born 1891-died ?) was the Interim Mayor of Hiroshima from August 7 to October 22, 1945. Morishita served as vice mayor of Hiroshima under mayor Senkichi Awaya was a Japanese public official who was killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiro ...

, later followed by

Shichirō Kihara was mayor of Hiroshima from October 22, 1945 to March 22, 1947 and was elected as member of the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly in 1911. Following the atomic attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, a period of political vacuum was created, as the ...

. In 1947, mayoral elections were held in Hiroshima for the first time, and Shinzō Hamai became the mayor. Hamai and the mayors of Hiroshima that followed have tried to become leaders of international public opinion on issues such as peace and nuclear disarmament. This activity is partly done by an organization called Mayors for Peace, established by mayor

Takeshi Araki was the mayor of Hiroshima from 1975 to 1991. In April 1947, he was elected as member of the Hiroshima city council, and as member of the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly in 1951. Araki was elected mayor of Hiroshima in 1975. In 1976, he proteste ...

in 1982. More recent mayors have directly asked nuclear powers such as the U.S. to dismantle their nuclear arsenals.

Chronological list of the Mayors of Hiroshima

Appointed by Japanese Ministry of Interior

(dates in parentheses indicate service as Mayor of Hiroshima) #

(August 29 to November 28, 1889) #

Sukeyuki Ban Sukeyuki Ban (伴資健 ''Ban Sukeyuki'', born Dec. 31, 1835 - died Jan. 28, 1913) was twice the mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic pro ...

(November 28, 1889 to November 27, 1895) # Tadashi Satō (January 10 to April 20, 1896) # Sukeyuki Ban, 2nd time (April 30, 1896 to August 30, 1906) # Kōichi Takatsuka (August 31, 1906 to April 24, 1909) #

Kan'ichi Oda was Mayor of Hiroshima from May to July 1909. Mayors of Hiroshima 1856 births 1909 deaths {{Japan-mayor-stub ...

(May 17 to July 22, 1909) # Matasaburō Watanabe (September 9, 1909 to July 3, 1910) #

Kenji Nagaya Kenji may refer to: *Kenji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name, and list of people & characters with this name *Kenji (era), a Japanese era spanned from 1275 to 1278 * ''Kenji'' (manga) (拳児), a 1980s manga by Matsuda Ryuchi * "Kenji" ...

(September 28, 1910 to February 16, 1913) #

Yōzō Toyoshima was the tenth mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 ...

(January 29 to April 2, 1914) #

Heizō Yoshimura Heizō Yoshimura (born 1869-died July 23, 1935) was a Japanese politician who served as Mayor of the City of Hiroshima from January 1915 to December 1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * ...

(January 22, 1915 to December 25, 1916) #

Masatake Tanabe Masatake Tanabe (田部正壮 Tanabe Masatake, 21 December 1849 - 21 September 1939) was the Mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product ...

(October 8, 1917 to October 7, 1921) #

Nobuyasu Satō was mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion a ...

(April 17, 1922 to January 21, 1925) #

Ryōki Kawabuchi Ryōki Kawabuchi was mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 ...

(August 24, 1925 to August 23, 1929) #

Sadaji Itō Sadaji Itō (born January 17, 1878-died 1943) was a Japanese politician who served as Mayor of the City of Hiroshima from May 1930 to May 1934. 1878 births 1943 deaths Mayors of Hiroshima {{Japan-mayor-stub ...

(May 16, 1930 to May 15, 1934) #

Kintarō Yokoyama Kintarō Yokoyama (横山金太郎 ''Yokoyama Kintarō'', b. Dec. 14, 1868-d. Sept. 25, 1945) was mayor of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic pr ...

(February 26, 1935 to February 25, 1939) #

Wakami Fujita was mayor of Hiroshima from 1939 to 1943. He survived the atomic attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and continued working for the Hiroshima municipality until 1947, when the US authorities purged him from his duties. In January 1946, he wa ...

(December 26, 1939 to May 9, 1943) #

(July 10, 1943 to August 6, 1945) #

(August 20 to October 22, 1945) #

(October 22, 1945 to March 22, 1947)

Elected Mayors

(dates in parentheses indicate service as Mayor of Hiroshima) # Shinzō Hamai (April 17, 1947 to April 8, 1955) # Tadao Watanabe (May 2, 1955 to May 1, 1959) # Shinzō Hamai, 2nd time (May 2, 1959 to May 1, 1967) #

Setsuo Yamada was the Mayor of Hiroshima from 1967 until his death. Career He served as member of the Upper House of the Diet in the early years after the Second World War, and in that capacity helped in 1949 to pass the law proclaiming Hiroshima a city of pe ...

(May 2, 1967 to January 8, 1975) #

(February 23, 1975 to February 22, 1991) #

Takashi Hiraoka was the mayor of Hiroshima from 1991 to 1999. Early life Takashi Hiraoka was born in Osaka to Tadao Hiraoka and Chitose Hiraoka (née Maeda). Initially, his parents had a delivery service in Osaka, but in 1934 the family business was hit by Typho ...

(February 23, 1991 to February 22, 1999) # Tadatoshi Akiba (February 23, 1999 to April 7, 2011) #

Kazumi Matsui is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Hiroshima, the capital city of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. Early life Matsui was born on January 8, 1953 in Hiroshima, Japan. His parents are ''hibakusha'', atomic bomb survivors. He earned a ...

(April 10, 2011 until present)based on a printed information sheet issued by the Hiroshima municipality, titled "Chronological List of the Mayors of Hiroshima City"

References

{{Reflist

External links

Website of Hiroshima municipality