is a Japanese politician. He currently serves as governor of

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

since 2021.

Early life and education

Hattori was born on September 11, 1954 in Kitakyushu City in

. He graduated elementary at Kitakyushu Municipal Izumidai Elementary School. He graduated middle school at Kitakyushu City Shinozaki Middle School. He graduated high school at Fukuoka Prefectural Kokura High School. He graduated college at

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...

Faculty of Law.

Political career

He started working at the Fukuoka Agriculture and Forestry Office and in 1977. He become the director of the Academic Affairs Division, Private School Promotion Bureau, General Affairs Department in 2004. He become the first person from within the government to be appointed as Director of the Finance Division, General Affairs Department in 2006. He become Deputy Director of General Affairs Department in 2009 and he was promoted as the Director of Welfare and Labor Affairs Department in 2010.

Vice governor of Fukuoka (2011–2021)

On September 13, 2011, He was appointed as Vice Governor of Fukuoka, replacing then-Vice Governor Nagao Ushio resigned. On August 25, 2017, after then-governor Hiroshi Ogawa was hospitalized after underging surgery to remove a tumor from his liver, he becomes the acting Governor of Fukuoka for two weeks. He once again became acting governor after Ogawa was hospitalized in January 2021 and later resigned as Governor of Fukuoka on February 22.

Governor of Fukuoka (2021–present)

He announced that he would run for governor after Ogawa announced his resignation. Although independent, he was endorsed and supported by the all three factions of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Fukuoka which is the first time since a conservative split in 2008. He also received endorsement from the

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left politics, centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling L ...

Komeito , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, i ...

, the Social Democratic Party of Japan, and the Prefectural Agricultural Policy Association. He won by a landslide against Mieko Hoshino garnering 992,255 votes. He was the first governor in Fukuoka to be elected that previously works within the prefectural government. He was reelected for the second term in 2025 receiving 1,036,280 votes.

Personal life

He is married and has three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattori, Seitaro 1954 births Living people Politicians from Fukuoka Prefecture Chuo University alumni Governors of Fukuoka Prefecture