Japan has been undergoing a “Miyazaki Prefecture Boom,” lately, thanks to its governor, former TV comedian Sonomanma Higashi, a discovery of director/comedian Takeshi Kitano, who appeared on Takeshi’s Castle for years.
The TV comic gave up his career as a “talent” to run for governor of this rural prefecture last year, winning despite having no backing from any political party.
Since taking office, he’s shaken things up quite a bit, using his celebrity status to shed light on the wasteful construction projects that plague rural Japan and trading in his official governor’s vehicle for a hybrid. Now, his face adorns dozens of products that contain ingredients from the prefecture, and it seems you can’t go into a shop without seeing his face smiling up at you.
Miyazaki is located in the southeast corner of the southernmost island of Kyushu, one of the early centers of Japanese civilization due to its proximity to China and the Korean Peninsula, and it’s famous for mangoes, the off-season training camp for the Tokyo Giants, and a sprawling resort called SEAGAIA, which recreated a tropical beach under an 85 acre dome, although it was closed last year due to the inability of the operators to make a profit.
Call me a cynic, but shouldn’t the Governor of Miyazaki spend most of his time in Miyazaki? Or is that just not how things work in the Japanese system? I see this guy on TV every single day, and since most shows broadcast out of Tokyo, I’m pretty sure that this guy is spending at least half of his week in Tokyo.
I’ve seen complaints that he is away from the prefecture too much, but remember that he’s an independent candidate, hence every candidate from every party has reason to do nothing but complain about him, as an “outsider” which really has to be hard on the guy. I figure if he’s bringing home the bacon to his prefecture by raising awareness of the region, it’ll be worth it in the end. Our own prefecture of Gunma has terrible local leadership, very conservative and resistant to change IMHO, but for some reason many Prime Ministers come from our prefecture, including the current Fukuda, poor Obuchi who died in office, and Nakasone. Also, Wikipedia tells me, the inventor of Flash memory comes from our prefecture. How cool.