Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu Resigns Over Discriminatory Remark About Occupation

Wearing a necklace of brightly colored flowers, he was light on his feet and seemed to be in a good mood.

On Saturday, April 6, a day when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, Governor Heita Kawakatsu, 75, attended the “Lake Hamana Flower Expo 2024” held in Shizuoka Prefecture. Kawakatsu submitted his resignation following controversial comments he made at the Shizuoka Prefectural Government’s entrance ceremony on April 1. A gubernatorial election is expected to be held as early as the end of May. Kazuya Kobayashi, a former reporter for the Shizuoka Shimbun and an expert on Shizuoka’s public administration, explains, “Governor Kawakatsu is a doctoral candidate at Oxford University.

Governor Kawakatsu is an intellectual scholar with a doctorate from Oxford University. In 2008, he made a disparaging remark to former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, saying, ‘The level of his education has been exposed,’ and once called the LDP prefectural assembly ‘a yakuza group, a rag tag. He has announced his resignation himself, and those who wanted him out are overjoyed. However, the “linear problem” will continue for some time. After a year or so, he will try to find a way to resolve the issue in a way that respects the opinions of the people of the prefecture.

The battle for the successor is expected to be a mess. What will happen next?

The leading candidates for the new governor are Goshi Hosono, 52, of the Liberal Democratic Party, from the eastern part of the prefecture; Shinichi Omura, 60, a former bureaucrat in the central part; and Yasutomo Suzuki, 66, who served four terms as mayor of Hamamatsu City, from the western part. Mr. Hosono has the best name recognition, but he is a member of the Nikai faction. The LDP will not endorse him. On the other hand, Mr. Suzuki is backed by Osamu Suzuki (94), advisor to Suzuki Motor Corporation, the “don of the Shizuoka business world,” and of course if he makes a move, it will likely be to his advantage.

In contrast to Kawakatsu’s smiling face, which evokes the joys of spring, the prefectural government seems to be in turmoil.

From the April 26, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY