Heita Kawakatsu | |
|---|---|
川勝 平太 | |
 Official portrait | |
| Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Yoshinobu Ishikawa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 August 1948 Osaka, Japan |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Waseda University University of Oxford |
Heita Kawakatsu (川勝 平太, Kawakatsu Heita, born 16 August 1948) has been the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture[1] since 2009 and is currently serving his fourth term.
He completed his D.Phil. at Wolfson College, Oxford, under Professor Peter Mathias and was Professor of Economics History at Waseda University, Tokyo. He was also Professor of Economics History and Vice Director of the International Research Centre for Japanese Studies in Kyoto and President at Shizuoka University of Arts and culture.[2] He is co-editor of many studies including Intra-Asian Trade and Industrialization and The Evolving Structure of the East Asian Economic System since 1700, both published by Routledge.[3]
A former economic historian, Kawakatsu was a professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto from 1998 to 2007.[citation needed] Kawakatsu's research on "civilization theory" has been critiqued by historians such as Tessa Morris-Suzuki.[4] Kawakatsu has written numerous books in the Nihonjinron genre of Japanese cultural studies.
He is opposed to the plan of Tokyo-Nagoya MagLev route[5] in terms of ecological system and water supply.
Kawakatsu has made several gaffes during his governorship. In 2021, the Shizuoka prefectural assembly advised him to resign after he said that the city of Gotemba "only has koshihikari" as its local specialty. In March 2024, he publicly ranked regions within the prefecture based on how "cultured" they were. During a speech to newly-employed civil servants on 1 April 2024, he made derogatory remarks comparing employees of the prefectural government with "those who sell vegetables, take care of cows or create things." The resulting uproar led to him announcing his resignation on 2 April following the June prefectural assembly.[6] However, he clarified on 3 April that he was resigning due to his opposition to the Tokyo-Nagoya MagLev route and not for his remarks, which he did not retract, although he apologized "for hurting the feelings of people working in the primary sector."[7]
