Naomichi Suzuki

Naomichi Suzuki (鈴木 直道, Suzuki Naomichi, born 14 March 1981) is a Japanese politician who currently serves as Governor of Hokkaidō.[1] He previously served as mayor of Yūbari city for two consecutive terms from 2011 to 2019. He had also served in Regional Sovereignty Strategy Office of Cabinet Office and as a chief of General Affairs Division in General Affairs Department at Tokyo Governor's Office.

Naomichi Suzuki
鈴木 直道
7th Governor of Hokkaido
Assumed office
23 April 2019
Preceded byHarumi Takahashi
Mayor of Yūbari
In office
24 April 2011 – 28 February 2019
Personal details
Born (1981-03-14) 14 March 1981
Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan
Political partyIndependent
Alma materHosei University
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Suzuki was born in Kasukabe city of Saitama Prefecture and was raised in Misato City in the same Prefecture.[2] He attended Misato High School in Misato City. He lived with his mother due to divorce of his parents. He wasn't able to attend college due to economic problems. At 18 years of age he passed the Tokyo Metropolitan Staff Employment Examination and entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in April 1999 as an employee. In April 2000, he took admission at Hosei University and graduated from law faculty of the university in 2004. In University he served as captain of boxing club and was runner-up in 2002 at National Sports Tournament in Boxing Competition.

During this time as an employee of Tokyo, he joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Public Health Bureau (currently the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Welfare Bureau), Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health (currently the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Safety Research Center), the Tokyo Metropolitan Kita Medical Center, and the Health and Welfare Bureau and policy Department. After his tenure in Control Division of Welfare Department of health and Affairs Department as chief of General Administration Division, in January 2008 he was sent to Yubari from Tokyo as city official. In 2010, he was transferred to the Regional Sovereignty Strategy Office of the Cabinet Office as the head of the General Affairs Division of the General Affairs Department of the Tokyo Governor's Headquarters (currently Tokyo Metropolitan Government Policy Planning Bureau). In the same year, he participated in Yubari government.[3][4][5]

In November 2010 he showed his intention to run in the Yubari mayoral election and retired from Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He ran independently for mayor election. In April 2011 at the age of 30 years and 1 month Suzuki became the youngest ever mayor to be elected from any city of the country. He was supported by LDP and Komeito.

In March 2013, Naomichi Suzuki was selected as "Young Global Leaders" by the World Economic Forum hosting the Davos Conference.[6]

In 2014, he participated in the Ministry of Finance as Financial System Council as an expert.

In April 2015, he was re-elected as Mayor of Yubari. In November, he received the "Best Dresser Award" from the Japan Men's Fashion Association.

On 29 January 2019, he announced his intention to run without affiliation in the Hokkaido governor's election following the expiration of his term as Mayor. In an interview he told reporters that the LDP and Komeito will support him.[7]

On April 7, 2019, he was elected for the first time by defeating the opposition party unification candidate in the Hokkaido Governor's Election.[8][9][10]

As of 2019, he is the youngest prefectural governor (followed by Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture). His policies include the creation of the "Hokkaido Cheering Committee".[11]

References
  1. "「躍動する道政へ挑戦」　鈴木新知事が就任". 『北海道新聞』. April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  2. 『女性セブン』2011年5月26日号 週刊ポストネット
  3. 「鈴木直道からのメッセージ」 Archived February 4, 2019, at the Wayback Machine 鈴木直道
  4. 「市長プロフィール」 夕張市
  5. 東京都福祉保健局総務部総務課主任（夕張市派遣）　鈴木 直道さん Archived February 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine 法政大2009年12月20日
  6. "僕たちはどう働くか 「財政破綻」は実際にどういうことなのか 夕張市長　鈴木直道（1）". 『日本経済新聞』. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  7. "３７歳の夕張市長、北海道知事選出馬へ　無所属で". 『朝日新聞』. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  8. "北海道知事選、鈴木氏が初当選 与党系が制す". 『日本経済新聞』 (in Japanese). April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  9. INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (April 7, 2019). "北海道知事選、全国最年少３８歳の鈴木直道氏「ピンチをチャンスに」". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  10. "北海道知事に与党系の前夕張市長が当確 野党候補破る：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  11. 鈴木直道の政策 鈴木直道公式サイト（2019年8月17日閲覧）。
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