Izumi City's Election

Last month, I dismissed the news that the Mayor of Izumi City (the place where I am residing in) was fired because of bribery. I thought it would not concern me as 3 months is too short to understand the Japanese politics. But I was wrong... now the boomerang is flying back to me aiming at my face. My boss, Chiaki Hamada at BIC Eikaiwa will be running for the election to be part of the city council.

Chiaki was born on 9 July 1957. She graduated from Hagoromo Junior College at the Literary Department majoring in English. She was once a Japan Airlines Ltd. international flight cabin crew. She resigned after she got married. After that, she and another ex-stewardess realized the importance of English and they both started the Eikaiwa. Chiaki was divorced and married her current husband 8 years ago. She is a super energetic and passionate lady, very different from my general perception of the Japanese women.

The campaign has started with Chiaki's supporters giving out flyers at the train stations twice a day. By 19 June, election would be over and results should be announced soon after that. Perhaps I should ask for her autograph now just in case she will be too busy to sign for me next time.

Some details about Izumi City...

Population : 181 083 people
No. of Household : 65 767
Area : 84.99 km2

Izumi City is a historic city dating back to the Yayoi Period (3 BC - the 3 AD) and has a significant cultural heritage. The northern part of the city is mainly urban while the southern part is hilly. The dominant industry of the city is the production of 'Izumi-Cloth" and its man-made pearls.

To get more information about Izumi CIty, please check out the official website at http://www.city.izumi.osaka.jp/ and http://www.tourism-industry.izumi.osaka.jp/. You can translate the website from Japanese to English with Babel Fish translation at http://babelfish.altavista.com/.