Japanese Celebrity Wins Gubernatorial Election

Japanese celebrities are enjoying the fact that one of their own has been elected as a head government administrator.

Asahi Shimbun reported that Toru Hashimoto, 38, won the Osaka gubernatorial election on Jan. 27, overwhelming beating four other candidates. The last time a candidate in their 30s became governor in Japan was 57 years ago.

Hashimoto graduated from Waseda University, majoring in politics and economics. He is a well-known celebrity who has appeared as a lawyer on various TV programs nine times a week. There is little disagreement that his name value contributed to his landslide victory.

Hideo Higashikokubaru, a former comedian, was also elected as a governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in January 2007.

Governor-elect Hashimoto, father of seven children, worked as a celebrity and raised public censure with his direct and controversial remarks.

Some of comments include: “Japan should possess nuclear weapons,” and “Japanese sex tours in China are similar to that of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to that country.”

The governor-elect has also publicly pledged financial reforms for Osaka which suffers from debt worth five trillion yen.

But some are skeptical about Hashimoto’s ability to put Osaka’s financial house in order as he is considered a novice in this area.

Knock Yokoyama, a former comedian-turned-governor, won the Osaka gubernatorial election in 1995. Although Yokoyama got reelected in 1999 in a landslide victory, he stepped down from the post when he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a female university student who was an election campaigner.

iam@donga.com