is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A former two-term mayor of Akita 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 estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

, first elected in 2001. He was the Governor of

for four terms between 2009 and 2025. He is the 21st head of the North Satake branch of the

Satake clan The was a Japanese clan, 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 serv ...

Life

Early life and family

Satake was born into the Wainai family, and his biological great grandfather was

Wainai Sadayuki was a pioneer known for his contributions to the development of Lake Towada in Akita Prefecture. Biography Wainai was born in what is now Kazuno, Akita in 1858. He initially began his career in 1881 in the mining industry, then the backbone of ...

. 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 title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

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 to ...

(feudal lord) of Kubota Domain. He is the 21st head of the North Satake family. He is a native of Senboku, Akita, formerly known as Kakunodate Village in Senboku District. He graduated from

Tohoku University is a public research university in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. It is colloquially referred to as or . Established in 1907 as the third of the Imperial Universities, after the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, it initially focused on sc ...

in 1971, with a

B.E. A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Bac ...

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 except ...

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 Akita 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 Form ...

Alliance in

. He won election for the post over several other candidates on April 12, 2009. Fourth-term incumbent Takahisa Satake announced that he would not run after the last gubernatorial election, and the 2025 election became an election battle between newcomers.

Personality

Satake has said to love

cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

. During his time as Mayor of Akita, he kept five cats at the official residence. He owns a Siberian cat named Mir, given to him by Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

References

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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 People from Semboku, Akita Politicians from Akita Prefecture Tohoku University alumni Mayors of places in Japan Satake clan Governors of Akita Prefecture