Hideyo Hanazumi (花角 英世, Hanazumi Hideyo, born 22 May 1958) is a Japanese politician serving as the Governor of Niigata Prefecture, following his election in June 2018. Prior to his election, Hanazumi served as a vice commandant in the Japan Coast Guard and as Vice Governor of Niigata.^[1]

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Quick Facts Governor of Niigata Prefecture, Preceded by ...

Hideyo Hanazumi
花角 英世
Governor of Niigata Prefecture
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 June 2018
Preceded by	Ryuichi Yoneyama
Personal details
Born	(1958-05-22) 22 May 1958 (age 65) Kanai, Niigata, Japan
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	University of Tokyo
Profession	Bureaucrat

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In the race to become Niigata's governor, Hanazumi was backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, in a face-off against opposition-backed candidate Chikako Ikeda. Throughout his campaign, Hanazumi tried to distance himself from the ruling coalition, in a bid to gain support from a wider range of voters. The ruling coalition has faced allegations of favoritism involving two school operators. In the election, Hanazumi defeated Ikeda by a narrow 3.4% margin.^[2]

In contrast to the pro-nuclear policies of the LDP and Komeito, Hanazumi vowed to maintain a cautious approach to the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, effectively following the policy of his opposition-supported predecessor.^[3]

He was re-elected in the 2022 Niigata gubernatorial election.