Wikipedia

Shinji Ishimaru

Shinji Ishimaru (石丸 伸二, Ishimaru Shinji, born 12 August 1982) is a Japanese politician who has served as Mayor of Akitakata from 2020 until his resignation in 2024.[1] Ishimaru obtained national prominence as mayor in 2022 after a video of him scolding members of the city council for sleeping during a meeting went viral on social media, with the video gaining 13 million views on YouTube.[2] Ever since then, he has gained a large internet following, especially on Twitter with his vocal political opinions and by documenting his frequent clashes with local political opponents.[3]

Shinji Ishimaru
石丸 伸二
Official portrait, c. 2020
Mayor of Akitakata
In office
August 9, 2020 – June 9, 2024
Preceded byHiroshi Kodama
Succeeded byEtsushi Fujimoto
Personal details
Born (1982-08-12) 12 August 1982 (age 42)
Akitakata, Hiroshima, Japan
Political partyIndependent
Alma materKyoto University (BEc)
WebsiteOfficial website

Ishimaru ran in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent, but ultimately lost to incumbent Yuriko Koike. However, Ishimaru secured second place with 1,658,363 votes, capturing 24.3% of the total. His surprising performance exceeded expectations, notably overshadowing Renhō, considered Yuriko Koike's primary challenger.[4]

Early life

edit

Born in Akitakata, Hiroshima,[5] Ishimaru attended the Hiroshima Prefectural Gion Kita High School, then enrolled at Kyoto University's Faculty of Economics.[6] In 2006 following graduation, he became an employee of MUFG Bank and was assigned to their Himeji branch.[7] In 2014 he was assigned to the New York City branch of MUFG Union Bank, a subsidiary of MUFG Bank, as a foreign exchange analyst,[8][9] and worked in 25 cities across nine states in the United States for four and a half years. He left MUFG Bank in 2020.[10]

Political career

edit

Mayor of Akitakata

edit

In July 2020, Hiroshi Kodama resigned as Mayor of Akitakata after it was revealed that he received JP¥600,000 in cash from Katsuyuki Kawai, a member of the House of Representatives with allegations of vote buying to aid his wife Anri Kawai's campaign for the House of Councillors.[11] Following this development, Ishimaru decided to run for mayor. He officially declared his candidacy on July 22.[12] In the subsequent mayoral election held on August 9, Ishimaru won against rival Mineaki Takemoto, the then-incumbent vice mayor, with 8,076 votes (60.18% of the popular vote).[13][14][15]

On May 10, 2024, in a press conference, Ishimaru announced that he would not seek reelection as mayor of Akitakata, but expressed his intention to continue his career as a politician.[16][17] He expressed interest in running for Governor of Tokyo and the House of Representatives.[18][19]

2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election

edit

On May 16, 2024, Ishimaru announced his intention to run in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election.[20] He held a press conference in Hiroshima on the next day and officially announced his candidacy for the gubernatorial election, revealing that he would run as an independent and without the endorsement of a political party.[21][22]

Ishimaru placed second with 1,658,363 votes, securing 24.3% of the total vote share. His unexpected performance surpassed many expectations, particularly overshadowing Renhō, widely considered to be incumbent Yuriko Koike's primary challenger. In his concession speech, he said that he is thinking of entering national politics in the future, hinting a candidacy for the Hiroshima 1st district of the House of Representatives, the constituency of prime minister Fumio Kishida.[23][24]

References

edit
  1. ^ "安芸高田市の石丸市長が6月9日付で辞職 市長選の予定日、前倒しに：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  2. ^ "「恥を知れ！恥を！」39歳市長が議会に怒り…居眠り議員をリストラ？ 市長提案の議員半減案どうなった｜FNNプライムオンライン". FNNプライムオンライン. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  3. ^ "Mayor in Hiroshima Prefecture city to run in Tokyo governor race". The Japan Times. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  4. ^ NEWS, KYODO. "Tokyo Gov. Koike reelected, beating opposition Renho, rising ex-mayor". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  5. ^ "都知事選出馬表明の石丸伸二氏にオバ記者が突撃！「大学時代の交際歴はない」「読んだ漫画は2万冊超」…その素顔に迫る". NEWSポストセブン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  6. ^ "地方から日本を変える！ 安芸高田市長・石丸伸二「個人の人生で考えたら（市長になるのは）割に合わないです。でも、社会として考えたら、めちゃめちゃコスパがいい」 - 政治・国際 - ニュース". 週プレNEWS［週刊プレイボーイのニュースサイト］ (in Japanese). 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  7. ^ 石丸伸二 (2023-12-14). "「補助金をもらうことが議員の仕事ではない!」金ばかりせびる居眠り議員に「恥を知れ！」と激怒した41歳安芸高田市長が婚活事業を廃止した理由". みんかぶ（マガジン） (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  8. ^ "株式会社AilaB | お知らせ | 株式会社AilaB ✖︎ 安芸高田市、未来への新たな一歩". SMART COMPANY (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  9. ^ "38歳の新市長と、広島県 安芸高田市を変える。「2人目の副市長」公募開始。│ソーシャルインパクト採用プロジェクト by エン・ジャパン". 38歳の新市長と、広島県 安芸高田市を変える。「2人目の副市長」公募開始。│ソーシャルインパクト採用プロジェクト by エン・ジャパン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  10. ^ "38歳の新市長と広島県 安芸高田市を変える。「2人目の副市長」公募開始。". enjapan.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ "河井容疑者の買収事件 安芸高田市長 現金の受け取り認める | ニュース・報道 | 広島ホームテレビ". 2020-06-25. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  12. ^ "安芸高田市長選 銀行員・石丸氏が立候補へ あす表明 ／広島". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  13. ^ "「丸刈り市長」後任は37歳元銀行員 安芸高田市長選：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  14. ^ "過ち糧に新しい政治へ 安芸高田市長・石丸伸二さん（３８）＝安芸高田市【決別 金権政治 参院広島・再選挙を前に】＜４＞ | 中国新聞デジタル". 過ち糧に新しい政治へ 安芸高田市長・石丸伸二さん（３８）＝安芸高田市【決別 金権政治 参院広島・再選挙を前に】＜４＞ | 中国新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  15. ^ "日刊スポーツ : nikkansports.com". www.nikkansports.com (in Japanese). 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  16. ^ "石丸・安芸高田市長が再選不出馬表明 市政の課題「あらかたケリ」：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  17. ^ 日本放送協会. "安芸高田市石丸市長 次の市長選挙には立候補しない意向｜NHK 広島のニュース". NHK NEWS WEB. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  18. ^ "石丸伸二・安芸高田市長が再選不出馬 東京都知事選「前向きに検討」". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  19. ^ "「J1広島の応援続けて」安芸高田市長・石丸伸二が衆院選で岸田首相と対決か（2024年5月11日）｜BIGLOBEニュース". BIGLOBEニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  20. ^ "広島県安芸高田市の石丸伸二市長、東京都知事選に出馬へ". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  21. ^ "石丸・安芸高田市長、都知事選は無所属で出馬「地方の衰退止める」：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2024-05-17. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  22. ^ 楠城 泰介, 大泉 晋之助 (2024-05-19). "東京都知事選告示まで１カ月も固まらない構図 小池百合子知事はいまだ意思表明せず". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  23. ^ "【速報】石丸伸二氏は今後の対応について「国政は選択肢の一つ。例えば広島１区」と述べた：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). 2024-07-07. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  24. ^ 内政部, 時事通信 (2024-07-07). "石丸伸二氏「国政も選択肢」 広島１区に言及―都知事選：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shinji_Ishimaru&oldid=1257710989"