13 Facts About Hirofumi Yoshimura

Hirofumi Yoshimura is a Japanese politician currently serving as the governor of Osaka Prefecture.

Hirofumi Yoshimura studied law at Kyushu University, graduating in 1998.

Hirofumi Yoshimura passed the Japanese bar examination later that year and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 2000, at the age of 25.

Hirofumi Yoshimura remains a partner in the firm as of 2017.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was elected to the Osaka city council in 2011 as a member of the Osaka Restoration Association headed by Osaka Prefecture governor Toru Hashimoto.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in the 2014 general election as a member of the Japan Innovation Party.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was a candidate in the Osaka 4th district and lost in a close race with LDP incumbent Yasuhide Nakayama, but picked up a seat through the JIP proportional representation list.

Hirofumi Yoshimura was initially considered an underdog in his mayoral bid in the November 2015 "double election" for the governor of Osaka Prefecture and mayor of Osaka City.

At the beginning of his term, Hirofumi Yoshimura joined with the newly elected Osaka Prefecture governor Ichiro Matsui to establish a joint office for the purpose of promoting Osaka as a "vice capital" of Japan, such as by hosting government agencies currently based in Tokyo.

Hirofumi Yoshimura is a proponent of casino development in Osaka, and led a 2017 proposal to re-develop part of the Yumenoshima artificial island in Osaka Bay as a casino facility.

In 2017, Hirofumi Yoshimura threatened to cancel Osaka's sister city relationship with San Francisco due to plans from a Chinese-American group to incorporate a statue of a comfort woman in a San Francisco municipal park.

Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned from the post on 21 March 2019 to contest the Osaka Gubernatorial Election.

Hirofumi Yoshimura appointed Seiji Maehara as co-leader, partially for Maehara to lead the Diet branch, as Yoshimura is based in Osaka.