Japan's 'Youngest Ever' 33-Year-Old Mayor Emerges... Former Kyoto City Official

Candidate Kawata Shoko Elected Yawata Mayor
"Will Promote Local Attraction and Develop Area Around Station"

The youngest female mayor in Japan has been born in Kyoto.

Election campaign scene of Shoko Kawata, the elected mayor of Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture (center). [Photo by Shoko Kawata Facebook capture]

According to major foreign media reports on the 13th, independent candidate Kawata Shoko won the mayoral election in Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture.

Kawata, currently 33 years old, broke the record for the youngest female mayor previously held by Naito Sawako, who won the Tokushima City election in Tokushima Prefecture in 2020 at the age of 36.

Mayor-elect Kawata is a former Kyoto city employee. She ran as an independent candidate with the recommendation of former mayor Horiguchi Fumiaki (71), who resigned midway due to health issues.

After graduating from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Economics, she joined Kyoto City in 2015, handling welfare work. She later served as a secretary to Santo Akiko, a member of the House of Councillors from the Liberal Democratic Party.

She developed an interest in politics after witnessing the problems in educational administrative support for her intellectually disabled younger brother while she was in high school.

Kawata expressed her thoughts upon election, saying, "I want to firmly promote attracting businesses and developing areas around the station," and added, "I will also devote all my efforts to enhancing welfare."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.