Who Is Satoko Kishimoto? Belgian Woman of Japanese Descent Becomes Mayor In Tokyo

After becoming well-known through online political discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Japanese woman living in Belgium for a long time has been elected mayor of the Tokyo district. Satoko Kishimoto has been living in Leuven, Belgium with her spouse and two children.

Suginami city is a ward of 500,000 people. With barely 200 votes separating her from the competition, she is now poised to lead Tokyo's Suginami district as mayor. Satoko Kishimoto will take office in July.

Who is Satoko Kishimoto?

• Kishimoto, a 47-year-old woman who has spent nearly ten years in Belgium, was chosen as mayor of a Tokyo district.  In order to personally campaign, Kishimoto, a project coordinator for the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, relocated to Japan in April.
• Her husband Olivier Hoedeman stated, "During the COVID-19 crisis, when everything happened online, Satoko participated a lot in online public debates in Japan from Leuven," in an interview with a local Flemish radio station on Monday.
• Her husband further told, "Satoko is very interested in politics and through her work for the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, she knows a lot about it too."She gained a lot of support from the Japanese progressive movement and was asked to run for mayor of Suginami.
• Hoedeman also disclosed that his wife spent the first 25 years of her life in Japan before relocating to the Netherlands and ultimately to Leuven, where she currently resides. "But Satoko has always kept the connection with Japan, so when the invitation came to run for mayor, she was immediately very enthusiastic," they never anticipated her to win, her husband continued while speaking about her.
• "The election result came as a huge surprise. Satoko defeated the conservative mayor in office. Apparently, her political message appealed to many citizens. Satoko wants less privatisation and more citizen participation," he further declared.
• According to reports, her win has become big news across Japan where it's purportedly seen as the "beginning of a fresh wind" in Japan's politics.
• According to The Guardian, Kishimoto has edited a book on alternatives to water privatisation.

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