Saitama Prefecture Governor Motohiro Ohno

Towards becoming the No. 1 most livable prefecture through effective digital transformation and a robust disaster prevention system.

Saitama Prefecture Governor: Motohiro Ohno

■ Profile
He graduated from the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Keio University in 1987 and completed his master's degree in International Relations at the International University of Japan in 1989. In September 1989, he became a specialist researcher at the Japanese Embassy in Iraq, and in 1990, a specialist researcher at the Japanese Embassy in the United Arab Emirates. From 1993 onwards, he served as a researcher at the Middle East Research Institute, a specialist analyst at the Second Analysis Division of the International Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a specialist researcher at the Japanese Embassy in Qatar, and a secretary at the Japanese Embassies in Jordan and Syria. From 1989, he served as a part-time researcher at the Middle East Institute of the International University of Japan, as well as a part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo's College of Arts and Sciences and Aoyama Gakuin University Graduate School. From 2005, he served as a member of the Ministry of Defense's Defense Strategy Committee. In 2010, he was first elected to the House of Councillors, and in 2012, he served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office. In August 2019, he became the 61st Governor of Saitama Prefecture, a position he holds to this day.

Saitama Prefecture Governor Motohiro Ohno is tackling historical challenges such as population decline and natural disasters, as well as strengthening digital transformation (DX) and disaster prevention systems. We spoke with him about his thoughts on prefectural administration, including digitalization that leads to tangible results on the ground and the creation of disaster prevention systems in cooperation with related organizations, as well as his experiences as a student and his message to university students.

During my student years, I was a member of the American football team, but I left the team midway through due to a leg injury. In high school, I played in a band at live music venues, and in my senior year of university, I started my own company, actively trying new things. I also have experience turning my own ideas into businesses, such as gathering younger members of my American football team to start a hand car wash service for golf course users. On the other hand, at that time, I wasn't aiming to become a governor or a civil servant; I aspired to be a researcher. At university, I studied European philosophy, and in graduate school, I broadened my specialization to the Middle East and engaged in research on Islamic philosophy. During my student years, I challenged myself in various fields and accumulated experience by taking action on my own.

■ Seeking improvements to bureaucratic silos and pursuing a career in politics

My motivation for becoming a politician stemmed from my experience as a researcher working in Iraq, where I was caught up in the war. There, I witnessed friends losing their lives, and I strongly felt that "people's lives can be protected or taken depending on the way politics is run." Afterwards, I worked as an expert on the government's security committee, but I felt the limitations of bureaucratic silos and came to believe that "people's lives cannot be protected if things continue like this." Around that time, the Democratic Party government pledged to "eliminate bureaucratic silos," which prompted me to enter the world of politics. Later, I was asked by the former governor to take on the governorship, and although I initially declined, after studying prefectural politics for four years and solidifying my desire to implement my own policies, I decided to pursue the path of governor.

■Excellent accessibility is a major strength of Saitama Prefecture

I believe Saitama Prefecture's appeal lies in the overlap between its production and consumption areas, as well as its excellent transportation links. Its large population and inhabited areas support both consumption and production, and the foundation for this is its livability. While it doesn't rank highly in tourism or gourmet rankings, it consistently ranks high in livability. Furthermore, the ability to access approximately 50 million people in about an hour using public transport is a major strength. Saitama Prefecture boasts vast plains, making it a hub for Shinkansen lines and expressways originating from Tokyo, facilitating the movement of people and industries. Leveraging these strengths, I aim to further enhance Saitama's livability while simultaneously promoting its many attractions, including its delicious food.

■From DX to TX: Changes will be driven by considering the benefits for those on the ground.

While DX may seem simple, I believe it's incredibly difficult to implement in practice. Especially in government offices, changing work practices that have been in place for 30 or 40 years is not easy. Therefore, I started reforms within the prefectural government. After taking office, I prohibited bringing paper into my room, improved the internet environment, reduced the number of photocopiers, and gradually eliminated paper documents and cabinets. Instead of immediately promoting AI or robotics, I started with the simple task of "eliminating paper," taking it one step at a time. As a result, the creation of parliamentary responses has also moved online. By reviewing the process of printing and replacing documents every time corrections were needed, employees no longer have to stay late into the night, and many can now go home in the evening. Once everyone saw the benefits, DX progressed rapidly. However, digitalization is merely a means to an end. Therefore, I'm independently promoting "TX (Task Transformation)," creating a system to allocate the time freed up by DX to earlier departures, reskilling, and new projects. In the midst of a declining population, we believe that increasing productivity is of paramount importance, and that's why we're pursuing this initiative.

■A lubricant for disaster prevention: Saitama's version of FEMA

Even before becoming governor, I wanted to work on strengthening our disaster prevention system. At the heart of this is the "Saitama version of FEMA," modeled after the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's "FEMA." The prefecture has virtually no operational units, but in the event of a disaster, it will play a coordinating role, bringing together the police, Self-Defense Forces, infrastructure operators, and other relevant parties. To this end, we are repeatedly conducting tabletop exercises simulating various disaster scenarios, and are also working to create information-sharing mechanisms and common formats to ensure smooth cooperation among related organizations.

■Continuing to tackle historical challenges with actionable digitalization as our weapon.

There are two historical challenges that underlie the issues I want to address as governor. One is the declining population and the arrival of a super-aging society with a low birthrate, and the other is responding to crises such as increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters and pandemics. I believe that population decline is unavoidable for the foreseeable future, so I think that broad support for digitalization and DX is crucial. Connecting people, organizations, and services digitally and increasing productivity is of utmost importance. Simply promoting digitalization is meaningless; it is necessary to connect it to increased productivity. I would like to promote DX that leads to results, including in private companies, and then expand these efforts to other sectors.

■Message to university students

University students have plenty of time, so I encourage them to try many different things. What I especially want you to value is "real-life experience," something you can't get from social media or AI. I lived in Egypt during my graduate studies, and through living with the local people, I experienced firsthand different values ​​and cultures from Japan. There are lessons you can only learn by actually experiencing things and thinking for yourself. The four years of university life are a precious time to have such real-life experiences. For the sake of your future, I hope you will gain many experiences while maintaining your own sense of purpose.

Student Newspaper Online, July 8, 2026 Interview: Kyohei Nakazawa, 3rd year student at Waseda University / Tatsushi Harada, 2nd year student at Nihon University

Sho Oyama (1st year, Chuo University) / Kyohei Nakazawa (3rd year, Waseda University) / Reina Inomoto (1st year, Kyoto University of the Arts) / Tatsushi Harada (2nd year, Nihon University)