Tsugumasa Muraoka

Tsugumasa Muraoka
村岡 嗣政
Official Portrait
Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture
Assumed office
February 25, 2014
Preceded byShigetarō Yamamoto
Personal details
Born (1972-12-07) December 7, 1972
PartyLDP (since 2017)
Other political
affiliations
Independent (2014–2017)
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo (BEc in 1996)

Tsugumasa Muraoka (Japanese: 村岡 嗣政, Hepburn: Muraoka Tsugumasa; born December 7, 1972) is a Japanese politician who is governor of the Yamaguchi Prefecture since 2014.

Born in Ube, Yamaguchi, he attended Ube City Nishigiwa Elementary School, Nishigiwa Middle School, and Yamaguchi Prefectural Ube High School. At the last of these, he became the president of the student council in his second year and founded a band inspired by the American singer Prince.[1][2] He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics.[3][1] In April 1996, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). He became the director of the Finance Division in Hiroshima in August 2002 and later on Kochi Prefecture in April 2007,[3][1] retiring from the latter on January 15, 2014.[3] At a press release five days later, he announced that he would run in February's Yamaguchi gubernatorial election to replace Shigetarō Yamamoto as governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, having been picked by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Yamaguchi Prefectural Federation.[2] He won the election with 286,996 votes, beating Tsutomu Takamura and Naoko Fujii, and became the second youngest governor in Japan after Eikei Suzuki of Mie Prefecture.[4][5]

On July 27, 2017, he announced that he would run for reelection in the 2018 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election and that he would be joining the Liberal Democratic Party.[6] He was elected for his second term after beating Yuzuru Kumano[7] and for a third term after contesting the 2022 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Muraoka chiji kenkyū <naka> jōkyō, kanryō risshin no ashiato bando seinen "ore, Tōdai iku"" 村岡知事研究 <中> 上京、官僚 立身の足跡 バンド青年「俺、東大行く」 [Research on Governor Muraoka <Part 2> Moving to Tokyo, becoming a bureaucrat, and the path to success: A young man in a band says, "I'm going to Tokyo University"]. Chugoku Shimbun. April 2, 2020. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b 県知事選、村岡嗣政氏が出馬会見「活力のある地域を」 [Prefectural gubernatorial election: Tsugumasa Muraoka announces his candidacy at press conference: "We want to create a vibrant region"]. Yamaguchi Shimbun (in Japanese). January 21, 2014. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Chiji no purofīru o go shōkai shimasu - Yamaguchi-ken hōmupēji" 知事のプロフィールをご紹介します - 山口県ホームページ [Introducing the Governor's Profile - Yamaguchi Prefecture Homepage]. Yamaguchi Prefecture Official Website. February 23, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "Ex-bureaucrat wins Yamaguchi race". The Japan Times. February 24, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  5. ^ "Yamaguchi chiji-sen shingao Muraoka-shi ga tōsen" 山口知事選 新顔・村岡氏が当選 [Newcomer Muraoka wins Yamaguchi gubernatorial election]. The Asahi Shimbun. February 24, 2014. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  6. ^ "Abe shushō jimoto no Yamaguchi kenchiji, saisen shutsuba e Jimintō ni nyūtō, dōtō suisen ka" 安倍首相地元の山口県知事、再選出馬へ 自民党に入党、同党推薦か [Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Prime Minister Abe's home prefecture, to run for re-election; may join LDP and be endorsed by the party]. Sankei Shimbun. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  7. ^ "LDP-backed incumbents win in Nagasaki and Yamaguchi gubernatorial elections". The Japan Times. February 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "Yamaguchi chiji ni Muraoka-shi 3-sen keizai saisei ya jinkō-gen taisaku ni kadai" 山口知事に村岡氏3選 経済再生や人口減対策に課題 [Yamaguchi Governor Muraoka re-elected for third term; economic revitalization and measures to combat population decline remain issues]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). February 7, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2025.