is a politician and the former governor of Hiroshima Prefecture

Hiroshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...

, Japan, from 1993 to 2009. A native of Minami-ku, Hiroshima

Minami-ku, Hiroshima

is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan....

 and graduate of 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...

, he had served in the House of Councillors

House of Councillors

The is the upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives...

 in the Diet of Japan

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

 since 1989 for one term before being elected governor.

Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture

As governor, he protested the US-Indian agreement on nuclear cooperation of September 2008 http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/mediacenter/article.php?story=20080909145925623_en&query=. In 2006, opposed, along with other governors in Japan, the US plan of rearranging the deployment of US troops in Japan. On July 16, 2009, he reversed the policy of Hiroshima prefecture regarding compensations to hibakusha

Hibakusha

The surviving victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called , a Japanese word that literally translates to "explosion-affected people"...

 living outside Japan as he announced that he would not appeal a July 2008 ruling of the District Court of Hiroshima regarding such compensations to a hibakusha who emigrated to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.