is the former governor of Miyagi

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and currently university professor & political commentator.

Early life and Administrative career

Asano was born in the northern port town of Ofunato, Iwate

Ofunato, Iwate

is a coastal city located in Iwate, Japan.It was founded on April 1, 1952.On November 15, 2001, the town of Sanriku, from Kesen District, was merged into Ōfunato....

, where his father was a town doctor. His father moved to nearby Tome, Miyagi

Tome, Miyagi

is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.Previously a district consisting of eight towns, on April 1, 2005, they, along with the town of Tsuyama formerly of Motoyoshi District, merged to form a new city. As of 2010, Tome city had an estimated population of 84,070 and a population density of...

 and at age 4 to Sendai, the prefectural capital of Miyagi. He grew up there until finishing high school.

Asano graduated from the faculty of law of University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo

, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...

 in 1970 and joined the Ministry of Health and Welfare. From 1972 to 1974 he was an exchange student at the University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, Graduate School of Political Science. He returned to Japan until 1978, when he was stationed at the Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. as second and first secretary. The position in Washington lasted until 1980. Back in Japan he worked a number of posts in the Ministry of Health and Welfare and in 1993 he was posted to Miyagi Prefecture

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

.

Political career

A few months after Asano arrived in Miyagi

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

, the prefectural governor and the mayor of the city of Sendai were indicted in bribery charges that shocked the population. With little time to prepare he decided to run for the prefecture were he had grown up. He won, and his grass-roots approach to campaigning would carry him two more terms to the position of Governor.

In 2005 he stepped aside and started a new career as an academic (now professor at Keio University

Keio University

,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...

 and Tohoku University

Tohoku University

, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...

) and political TV commentator. Charismatic and good speaker he was encouraged to run for Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 governor in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2007

Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2007

Tokyo held a gubernatorial election on April 8, 2007 as part of the 16th unified local elections. There were fourteen candidates , among them the incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara. All candidates ran as independents but some were supported by various parties....

. He faced Shintaro Ishihara

Shintaro Ishihara

is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...

, who run for his third four-year term, and several minor candidates. With barely a couple of months to prepare Asano ended up second on that election.

External links

• Official Website
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/hasekura/sets/72157600013119936/ (Flickr set on Asano Campaign)