is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. A former two-term mayor of

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

City in

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

, first elected in 2001, he is currently the Governor of

after winning election on April 12, 2009. He is the 21st head of the North Satake branch of the

Satake clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vassals ...

Life

Early life and family

Satake was born into the Wainai family, and his biological great grandfather was Wainai Sadayuki. He was later adopted to the North Satake family, a noble family that held the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

until 1945, when the nobility was abolished in Japan. The Satake family had formerly served as

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

(feudal lord) of

Kubota Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its his ...

. He is the 21st head of the North Satake family. He is a native of

Senboku, Akita is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 25,857 in 10,584 households, and a population density of 24 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Semboku is located in the mountai ...

, formerly known as

Kakunodate Village is a town located in Senboku District, Akita Prefecture, Japan. In 2003, the town had an estimated population of 14,138 and a density of 90.26 persons per km². The total area was 156.63 km². On September 20, 2005, Kakunodate, along wit ...

in Senboku District. He graduated from

Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...

in 1971, with a

B.E. A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degree in

Precision Engineering Precision engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering, software engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and optical engineering concerned with designing machines, fixtures, and other structures that have excepti ...

Career

After graduating from Tohoku University, he joined the Akita Prefectural Office in 1972 and held a series of positions until 1997. In that year, he helped to establish the Regional Economic Research Council. Later in July 2001, he won his first of two elections for the post of Mayor of

City. During his time in office, he was also the chairman and vice-chairman of the National Mayors Association of Japan and the Governmental Select Committee on Taxation. While still Mayor of Akita City, he became a candidate for Governor of

in February 2009. Though being a political independent, he earned the support of the local Liberal Democratic Party Alliance and the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

Alliance in

. He won election for the post over several other candidates on April 12, 2009.

Personality

Satake has said to love

cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

. During his time as Mayor of Akita, he kept five cats at the official residence.

References

* *
Almost daily Itoi Shimbun Nice to meet you, governor of Akita Prefecture. I'm here to talk about cats!
Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Satake, Norihisa 1947 births Living people Politicians from Akita Prefecture Tohoku University alumni Mayors of places in Japan Satake clan Governors of Akita Prefecture