By AKIHIRO TANAKA/ Staff Writer
April 25, 2022 at 16:59 JST
SENNAN, Osaka Prefecture--Yuma Yamamoto, 31, became the youngest city mayor in Japan after winning in a landslide here with 10,861 votes.
His 80-year-old rival, Hiroaki Koyama, gained 2,744 ballots.
Voter turnout for the April 24 election was 28.47 percent, up from 27.71 percent in the previous election.
Both candidates were formerly assembly members of the city.
Yamamoto, a member of Osaka Ishin no Kai, a local political party, became the nation’s first city mayor born in the Heisei Era (1989-2019), according to the Japan Association of City Mayors.
His victory fueled Osaka Ishin no Kai’s fast expansion of its power in the prefecture. It has captured the top posts in 18 of the prefecture’s 43 municipalities with its own candidates or those with strong ties to the party.
Yamamoto is originally from Gifu Prefecture. He was elected to the Sennan city assembly at the age of 26 after serving as an aide to a Lower House member.
His campaign pledges during the mayoral race included a cut in the mayor’s salary and zero retirement money for the mayor.
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Yuma Yamamto, a candidate from local party Osaka Ishin no Kai elected Sennan mayor in the election on April 24. (The Asahi Shimbun)
