Soka City Mayor Yuriko Yamakawa Promotes Local Charms Herself, Experiences Handmade Soka Senbei on YouTube Program "Mayor Tries Doing XX"

Ichi Ni Corporation (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Taku Takahata), which operates "Senkyo.com," Japan's largest political and election portal site, distributes the YouTube program "Mayor Tries Doing XX," where mayors from across the country take on various challenges to promote their municipalities themselves.

■ The 41st installment features Yuriko Yamakawa, Mayor of Soka City, Saitama Prefecture!

Released on May 1st, this episode of "Mayor Tries Doing XX" features Yuriko Yamakawa, Mayor of Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, promoting the charms of Soka City from Yatsude Bridge, which overlooks the pine trees of Soka Matsubara.

Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, is a city with a rich history, having flourished as "Soka-shuku," a post town on the Nikko Kaido. Historical landscapes such as Soka Matsubara, designated a national scenic beauty, and local specialties like Soka Senbei (rice crackers) still thrive. In recent years, in addition to enhancing childcare support and educational environments, the city has also been working on community development through citizen participation and the utilization of digital technology, promoting urban development that combines liveability with vitality.

In this episode of "Mayor Tries Doing XX," Mayor Yamakawa challenges the hands-on experience of making Soka Senbei, a local specialty! She enjoys the freshly baked texture and the aroma of rice and soy sauce. Furthermore, she experiences the expansion of Soka's new vibrancy at a bar renovated from a sushi restaurant.

With the slogan "Kodomo Mannaka Soka" (Children First Soka), the program delves into the appeal of Soka's community development, which is progressing with citizen participation from children to adults.

Are Soka's children fond of senbei!? The Mayor also reportedly ate them every day. "Kodomo Mannaka Soka" is the slogan, and Soka's community development spreads through citizens' actions.

■ Background of "Mayor Tries Doing XX"

The need for local government PR is higher than ever before. There are two main reasons for this.

One reason is the necessity to convey the charms of the region to people outside the area, tourists, and media professionals. In April 2024, a private expert group "Population Strategy Council" announced an analysis stating that in 744 municipalities, accounting for 40% of the total, the number of women in their 20s and 30s will halve by 2050, potentially leading to their "eventual disappearance." To protect precious local areas from "extinction," it has become an urgent task to attract "furusato nozei" (hometown tax donations), tourists, migrants, and businesses from outside the region.

Another reason is the need for local government public relations for residents. A survey conducted by the "Association for the Promotion of Bright Elections" after the 2023 unified local elections showed that the percentage of voters who struggled to decide whom to vote for because they "did not know much about the candidates' personalities or policies" was a record low of 54.1%. Mayors of local governments are the closest and most important politicians in residents' lives, yet opportunities to learn about their work and character are too few.

In response to this growing demand, the YouTube program "Mayor Tries Doing XX" was launched in May 2024 to enable people outside the region to learn about its charms, and to increase opportunities for residents to learn about their mayors and the initiatives of local administrations.

We will continue to disseminate the charms of regions nationwide in collaboration with mayors across the country!

■ Biography: Yuriko Yamakawa, Mayor of Soka City, Saitama Prefecture

Mayor Yuriko Yamakawa

Date of Birth: August 14, 1969 (Place of Birth: Soka City, Saitama Prefecture)

Education

Keisen University, Department of English and American Culture, graduated 1992

University of Hull, Graduate School of Social Sciences, UK

Master's Program in Southeast Asian Studies, completed July 1996

Biography

Saitama Prefectural Assembly Member (4 terms)

April 30, 2003 - April 29, 2007

April 30, 2007 - April 29, 2011

April 30, 2011 - April 29, 2015

April 30, 2015 - September 29, 2017

Member of the House of Representatives (1 term)

October 22, 2017 - October 14, 2021

Soka City Mayor (1st term)

October 29, 2022 - currently serving her first term

・Favorite Movie: Star Wars

・Motto: Keiten Aijin (Revere Heaven, Love People)

・Favorite Word: Sincerity

■ Previous Participating Mayors

You can view previous episodes of "Mayor Tries Doing XX" from the link below.

🔽 "Mayor Tries Doing XX" Main Program List

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHAYaGZq5IzXj8vUvJuj99xsuCM6VVHh1

1st Episode: Mayor Kazutoshi Tanabe, Koga City, Fukuoka Prefecture https://youtu.be/o8Ei65NuV-A

2nd Episode: Mayor Takashi Watabe, Higashimurayama City, Tokyo https://youtu.be/OHq-04P2f1Q

3rd Episode: Mayor Gen Nakagawa, Nara City, Nara Prefecture https://youtu.be/fpEczbgJSn4

4th Episode: Mayor Shunichi Ueno, Satsuma Town, Kagoshima Prefecture https://youtu.be/Cwb6SjYthoo

5th Episode: Mayor Hidenori Sakoooka, Kyogoku Town, Hokkaido https://youtu.be