Japan’s youngest mayor is 28 years old
It was the birth of the youngest mayor in Japan. Shuhei Azuma, a 28-year-old former member of the Foreign Ministry, which handles the nation’s diplomacy, won a mayoral election in Shijonawate, Osaka Prefecture.
The mayoral race was contested between Azuma and the 61-year-old incumbent, who was seeking a second term. Using the phrase “I want to change the city into a new Shijonawate” in his campaign, Azuma made an appeal to voters with his intention to strengthen support for education and child-rearing and make the city a place where women can be more actively engaged in society.
After being elected, Azuma braced himself for the work, saying: “Today we’re standing at the starting line. I want to do my job with the help of all the citizens’ strength and wisdom.”
People aged 25 or older are eligible to run for mayor. The 35-year-old mayor of Yubari, Hokkaido, was previously the youngest incumbent mayor, but Azuma is younger. The youngest in history is the mayor of Musashimurayama, Tokyo, who won an election in 1994 at the age of 27./rga
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