Satoko Kishimoto (; born 15 July 1974) is a Japanese politician and book editor. She is the first female mayor of

Suginami is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English. As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 pe ...

, Tokyo. Kishimoto spent some of her adult life in Europe before returning to Japan and entering politics unaffiliated with any political party. She is the editor of an anti-

water privatisation Water privatization is short for private sector participations in the provision of water services and sanitation. Water privatization has a variable history in which its popularity and favorability has fluctuated in the market and politics. O ...

book.

Early life

Kishimoto was born on 15 July 1974. She grew up in Japan, before moving to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

aged 25, then moving to

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 2008.

Career

Kishimoto became interested in Japanese politics while working at the

Transnational Institute The Transnational Institute (TNI), is an international non-profit research and advocacy think tank that was founded in 1974 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to their website, the organization promotes a "... just, democratic and sustainable w ...

, a non-profit organisation in Amsterdam, and attracted a grass-roots following with online debates during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. She was unsure of moving back to Japan permanently as she felt it would disrupt her children's schooling, but agreed to do so in April 2022 in order to campaign for mayor. In May 2022, while campaigning, Kishimoto took part in an anti-

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

march in Koenji. Kishimoto was elected in June 2022 as an independent candidate, defeating the incumbent conservative mayor by 187 votes. She became Suginami's first female elected mayor.

Views

Kishimoto has voiced concern about the lack of gender diversity in Japanese politics, believing it to be a serious detriment to the country. Of the 23 elected mayors in Tokyo, only three are women. She has faced criticism from some male subordinates over her gender, her lack of established political experience, and for living outside Japan for several years. She has spoken out against verbal and physical harassment by men. Along with other female Japanese politicians, she started the website Harassment Consultation Centre for Women in Politics. Kishimoto has opposed roadbuilding projects in Koenji. She is against privatisation and has edited a book outlining alternatives to water privatisation.

Personal life

Kishimoto is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kishimoto, Satoko 21st-century Japanese women politicians Women founders Living people People from Suginami Japanese women editors 21st-century mayors of places in Japan Women mayors of places in Japan Japanese expatriates in the Netherlands Japanese expatriates in Belgium Japanese women activists 1974 births Activists from Tokyo