was a Japanese politician and 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 as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

from 1955-1959. Was elected to the Lower House of Diet in April 1946, but soon after lost his seat due to the purge of Japanese officials by the US occupation authorities. He was able to return to political activity only following the end of the Allied occupation in 1952.

Mayor of Hiroshima

In April 1955 ran against

Shinzo Hamai ''Shinzo'', known as in Japan, is an anime television series produced by TV Asahi, Toei Advertising, and Toei Animation. It was directed by Tetsuo Imazawa, with Mayori Sekijima handling series scripts, Sachiko Kamimura designing the characte ...

, and won the election after making allegations of financial misconduct by his opponent. As Mayor of Hiroshima, Watanabe was in favor of the exact reconstruction of the

Hiroshima Castle , sometimes called , is a castle in Hiroshima, Japan that was the residence of the '' daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima Domain. The castle was originally constructed in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. ...

, which was completed in 1958. In 1956, he inaugurated the statue of the goddess

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

in the Peace Park in memory of those killed and in anticipation of peace

As mayor of Hiroshima, Watanabe supported the notion of establishing nuclear power plants in his city. Watanabe is survived by his son Naoyuki Watanabe (born 1946), who is working to cultivate his father's legacy. Yoko Nitta, "Documentary film depicting the reconstruction of Hiroshima is newly found"
/ref>

External links

* Interview by Watanabe to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'

* Article in '' Time (magazine), Time'' mentioning Watanab

Norioki Ishimaru, Reconstruction planning after the Second World War in Hiroshima

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Tadao Japanese politicians Mayors of Hiroshima 1898 births 1980 deaths