Hirofumi Yoshimura

Hirofumi Yoshimura (吉村 洋文, Yoshimura Hirofumi, born 17 June 1975) is a Japanese politician currently serving as the Governor of Osaka Prefecture. He assumed office in April 2019.

Hirofumi Yoshimura
吉村 洋文
Governor of Osaka Prefecture
Assumed office
8 April 2019
Preceded byIchiro Matsui
Mayor of Osaka
In office
19 December 2015 – 21 March 2019
Preceded byTōru Hashimoto
Succeeded byIchiro Matsui
Member of House of Representatives
In office
15 December 2014 – 1 October 2015
Succeeded byTamotsu Shiiki
ConstituencyKinki PR
Member of Osaka City Council
In office
2011–2014
ConstituencyKita-ku
Personal details
Born (1975-06-17) 17 June 1975
Kawachinagano, Osaka, Japan
Political partyOsaka Restoration Association
Japan Innovation Party
Alma materKyushu University
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Yoshimura was born in the Osaka suburb of Kawachinagano. He studied law at Kyushu University, graduating in 1998. He passed the Japanese bar examination later that year and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 2000, at the age of 25.[1][2]

After working for several years under Tokyo-based attorney Shintaro Kumagai (熊谷 信太郎), Yoshimura returned to Osaka and co-founded the Star Law Office in 2005. He remains a partner in the firm as of 2017.[3]

Political career

Osaka City Council

Yoshimura was elected to the Osaka city council in 2011 as a member of the Osaka Restoration Association headed by Osaka Prefecture governor Toru Hashimoto.

House of Representatives

Yoshimura was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in the 2014 general election as a member of the Japan Innovation Party.[4] He was a candidate in the Osaka 4th district and lost in a close race with LDP incumbent Yasuhide Nakayama, but picked up a seat through the JIP proportional representation list.[5]

Yoshimura's tenure in the Diet was short. Following an unsuccessful referendum in May 2015 to restructure the Osaka government, Toru Hashimoto announced his resignation as mayor of Osaka. In October, Hashimoto announced that he would transform the Osaka Restoration Association into a national party with about a dozen Diet members who had broken away from the JIP. On the same day, Yoshimura resigned from the House to run in the November 2015 election to replace Hashimoto.[6] Hashimoto reportedly hand-picked Yoshimura to serve as his successor.[7]

Mayor of Osaka

Yoshimura was initially considered an underdog in his mayoral bid in the November 2015 "double election" for the governor of Osaka Prefecture and mayor of Osaka City.[8] However, he won the election by a wide margin with former mayor Hashimoto's support.[7] In the final tally, he won 596,045 votes versus 406,595 for runner-up Akira Yanagimoto, who was supported by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the LDP.[9] Yoshimura took office on 18 December 2015.[10]

At the beginning of his term, Yoshimura joined with the newly elected Osaka Prefecture governor Ichiro Matsui to establish a joint office for the purpose of promoting Osaka as a "vice capital" of Japan, such as by hosting government agencies currently based in Tokyo.[11]

Yoshimura is a proponent of casino development in Osaka, and led a 2017 proposal to re-develop part of the Yumenoshima artificial island in Osaka Bay as a casino facility.[12]

In 2017, Yoshimura threatened to cancel Osaka's sister city relationship with San Francisco due to plans from a Chinese-American group to incorporate a statue of a comfort woman in a San Francisco municipal park.[13] In October 2018, he officially terminated Osaka's sister city relationship with San Francisco.[14][15] He resigned from the post on 21 March 2019 to contest the Osaka Gubernatorial Election.

Governor of Osaka

Yoshimura won the Osaka gubernatorial election held in 2019. He was backed by Osaka Ishin. His opponent, Tadakazu Konishi, was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.[16]

References
  1. "大阪市長 吉村洋文(よしむらひろふみ) プロフィール | 大阪市長 吉村洋文 公式サイト もっと大阪を前へ進めたい". yoshimura-hirofumi.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. "City of Osaka/City Administration/Mayor's Profile". www.city.osaka.lg.jp. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  3. "弁護士　吉村 洋文｜スター綜合法律事務所". www.star-law.jp. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  4. "吉村　洋文". 日本維新の会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  5. "吉村洋文（小選挙区・大阪府）：衆院選2014(衆議院選挙) : 読売新聞(YOMIURI ONLINE)". YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞） (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  6. Johnston, Eric (1 October 2015). "Hashimoto, Matsui launch new national party focused on Osaka". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  7. Ueda, Michio (6 December 2015). "Osaka Elections and the Japanese National Security Debate". The Diplomat. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  8. Sasaki, Nobuo. "Osaka Metropolis Plan Reemerged - Overview of the Osaka Double Election". www.yomiuri.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  9. "大阪市長選挙 開票速報∥大阪市選挙管理委員会". www.city.osaka.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  10. "【橋下市長退任】仲間は絶賛、政敵はバッサリ　橋下劇場"キャスト"の「贈る言葉」". 産経WEST (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. Johnston, Eric (28 December 2015). "Governor and mayor push for Osaka to become Japan's vice capital". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  12. "Osaka announces plan for Yumeshima Island integrated casino resort". World Casino News. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  13. Ryall, Julian (27 September 2017). "Osaka may sever ties with San Francisco over 'comfort women' statue". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  14. INGBER, SASHA (4 October 2018). "Osaka Ends tie with SF in protest". NPR. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  15. Yoshimura, Hirofumi (2 October 2018). "Termination of Sister City Relationship" (PDF). City of Osaka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2018.
  16. "Osaka leaders win in elections to swap roles, but merger prospects unclear". The Japan Times Online.

Preceded by
Ichirō Matsui		 Governor of Osaka Prefecture
April 2019 - present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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