Ichirō Matsui

Ichirō Matsui (松井一郎, Matsui Ichirō, born 31 January 1964) is a Japanese politician who is the current mayor of Osaka, leader of the Osaka Restoration Association (ORA) and one of the presidents of Nippon Ishin no Kai alongside Toranosuke Katayama.

Ichirō Matsui
松井 一郎
President of Nippon Ishin no Kai
Assumed office
12 December 2015
Serving with Toranosuke Katayama
Preceded byTōru Hashimoto
Mayor of Osaka
Assumed office
8 April 2019
Preceded byHirofumi Yoshimura
Governor of Osaka Prefecture
In office
27 November 2011 – 21 March 2019
Preceded byTōru Hashimoto
Succeeded byHirofumi Yoshimura
Personal details
Born (1964-01-31) 31 January 1964
Yao, Osaka, Japan
Political partyNippon Ishin no Kai (National)
Osaka Restoration Association (Local)
Alma materFukuoka Institute of Technology

Early life

Matsui attended public elementary and middle schools in Yao, Osaka, and moved to Fukuoka for high school.[1] After he graduated from Fukuoka Institute of Technology in March 1986, he worked for Kinden, a construction company affiliated with the Kansai Electric Power Company,[2] and Daitu, a privately-held logistics and waste management company.[1]

Political career

Matsui entered politics in April 2003 when he was elected to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly, serving three consecutive terms.[3] He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party until 2010, and served in several regional party leadership positions.[1]

Osaka Restoration Association and Japan Restoration Association

In April 2010 Matsui became the first secretary general of the regional Osaka Restoration Association. In September 2012 he also became the founding secretary-general of the new national party, the Japan Restoration Association.[4]

Governor of Osaka

After Tōru Hashimoto decided to step down as governor of Osaka prefecture in order to run as mayor of Osaka city in an effort to advance his plans of merging the two entities, Matsui ran for the governor position to replace him. Matsui was elected to the post in the November 2011 election.[5]

In June 2012, Kyozo Isohi, a homeless and unemployed man recently released from jail, stabbed two passersby to death in Shinsaibashi with a kitchen knife. Isohi told police that "he was frustrated at having no home and no job prospects, and that he didn’t want to live anymore".[6] Matsui made a controversial remark during a press conference, stating the attacker should have just killed himself instead of harming others.[7][8]

Matsui was re-elected to a second term in the Osaka "double election" of November 2015, scoring an overwhelming victory over his challengers.[9]

Personal life

Matsui is married with one son and one daughter.[1]

References
  1. "プロフィール | 大阪府知事 松井一郎". www.gogo-ichiro.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  2. Kinden Corporation History. Retrieved on 2 October 2012
  3. Think Global Think HK Mr Ichiro Matsui. Retrieved on 2 October 2012
  4. Daily Yomiuri Nippon Ishin no Kai officially launched. Published 30 September 2012.
  5. Asahi Shimbun Reform candidates sweep double elections in Osaka Archived 2011-11-28 at the Wayback Machine. Published 27 November 2011. Retrieved on 2 October 2012
  6. Japan Today Stabbing suspect should have killed himself, Osaka governor says. 12 June 2012. Retrieved on 3 October 2012.
  7. Japan Daily Press . Published 12 June 2012. Retrieved on 3 October 2012.
  8. Kansai Scene In remembrance. Published July 2012. Retrieved on 3 October 2012.
  9. Ueda, Michio (2015-12-06). "Osaka Elections and the Japanese National Security Debate". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
Preceded by
Tōru Hashimoto		 Governor of Osaka Prefecture
November 2011 – March 2019		 Succeeded by
Hirofumi Yoshimura
Preceded by
Hirofumi Yoshimura		 Mayor of Osaka City
March 2019 -		 Succeeded by
Incumbent


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