When most people think of
a government official they usually imagine someone who is only concerned with
profits and those in power. However Satake Norihisa, who is the current
governor of Akita prefecture, is not like this at all. Satake not only deals
with domestic government affairs, but he is also passionate about international
relations and animal rights.
He was born in Semboku, Akita on November 15th
1947. After he graduated from Tohoku University with a degree in Precision
engineering he worked at the Akita Prefectural Government for several years.
Then in 2001 he was elected the mayor of Akita city until April 2009 when he
was elected the governor of Akita prefecture. So far during his life he has helped
push renewable energy, make Akita International University a more global
friendly place, improved international relations, and even help build animal
shelters.
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| Satake Norihisa is a huge fan of cats. He actually owns 8 of them! |
One such example of Satake improving international
relations is when he gave a thank you gift in the form of a dog to Russian
President Vladimir Putin. After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami Russia
gave a helping hand to Japan. Satake gave an Akita Inu puppy to the Russian
President Vladimir Putin as a thank you gift. The Akita Inu is native to the
Akita prefecture and the puppy is named “Yume” after the Japanese word for
dream. In response to this the Russian President sent Satake a cat native to
Russia. Satake named this cat “Mir” after the Russian word for peace. These
pets symbolize the world peace that Satake strives for.
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| Satake with his new cat Mir |
Satake
Norihisa is also working on plans to build an animal shelter in Akita. It is
being built in a park in Akita city and will be opening in 2019. The shelter’s
purpose will be to help make it easier to adopt in Akita and lower the number
of euthanized animals in the city. Satake wants Akita to be a place that is not
only kind to people, but also animals.
So
Satake Norihisa is not a governor who only cares about money or those in power.
He supports renewable energy, sends gifts to foreign leaders, and builds animal
shelters. He does all of this because he wants better lives for everybody in
Akita and around the world.
Sources:
http://satake-norihisa.jp/profile
(Japanese)
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