is the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Gifu Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2005 and reelected in 2009. A native of

Gifu, Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...

, he was chosen as the final torchbearer for the National Sports Festival when it was held in Gifu while he was a senior at Gifu Prefectural Senior High School. He entered the Faculty of Law at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

and joined the

Ministry of International Trade and Industry The was a ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and d ...

(MITI) in 1971.

Career in National Government

During his time at MITI, he was sent to study at the

École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. From 1994 to 1996, he served as the Executive Secretary to both Prime Ministers

Tsutomu Hata was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan for nine weeks in 1994. He took over from Morihiro Hosokawa at the head of a coalition government. Shortly after he had been appointed Prime Minister, the Japanese Socialist Party l ...

and

Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He led the Japanese Socialist Party, and was responsible for changing its name to the Social Democratic Party of Japan in 1996. Upon becoming Prime Minister, he w ...

. Soon after he was appointed

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the Economic Cooperation Department in the

International Trade Bureau International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

of MITI and later the Director-General for Commerce and Distribution Policy in the same ministry. In 2002, he was moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to head the Economic Cooperation Bureau after the move was requested by then Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and the Office of the Prime Minister. He was put in charge of various reform efforts within the ministry and was chiefly responsible for the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

updating and reforming

Official Development Assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It ...

(ODA). He left the ministry after he was elected in February 2005 to be the next governor of Gifu Prefecture, replacing Governor

Taku Kajiwara Taku may refer to: Places North America * the Taku River, in Alaska and British Columbia ** Fort Taku, also known as Fort Durham and as Taku, a former fort of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Taku River ** the Taku Glacier, in A ...

, who had served for 16 years as governor.

2009 Election

With the support of both major political parties, the DPJ and LDP, as well as the

New Komeito Party , formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalitio ...

, Hajime defeated newcomer

Kazuhiko Kinoshita Kazuhiko ( or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * , politician * , a video game producer * Kazuhiko Chiba, Japanese footballer * Kazuhiko Hasegawa, film director * Kazuhiko Hosokawa, professional golfer * ...

on January 25, 2009. Kinoshita, the head of a local labor consultation center, was supported by the

Japanese Communist Party The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...

References

* * * * *

External links

* 1947 births Living people People from Gifu University of Tokyo alumni Recipients of the Legion of Honour École nationale d'administration alumni Governors of Gifu Prefecture {{Japan-politician-1940s-stub Politicians from Gifu Prefecture