Ryosuke Takashima has been elected as the new mayor of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The election took place on Sunday. Mr Ryosuke, 26, has also become the youngest mayor in Japan's history.
Before Mr Ryosuke, Kotaro Shisida was the youngest mayor elected in Japan. He was elected from Musashimurayama, Tokyo, in 1994. He was 27, The Japan News reported.
Mr Ryosuke left Tokyo University after one year to go to Harvard University to study Bachelor of Arts in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. He completed the degree last year.
Mr Ryosuke, as a student, founded a Ryugaku Fellowship - a non-profit organisation - that helps students study at universities abroad, the report added.
Interacting with the reporters after winning the election, Mr Ryosuke said, “I hope people will look at me and evaluate me not on my age but on the results [that I will achieve]. I can run because I am young. I want to make Ashiya the most desirable city in the world to continue living in.”
Mr Ryosuke won the election by 46 per cent, the report stated. During his campaign, the young Mayor spoke about “providing more support for young families, free medical care for people 18 and younger and improved English education programs.”
He also campaigned for “green infrastructure planning, promising to create more public spaces and parks, as well as reforms in education, childcare and youth healthcare,” reported CNN.
