Mayor of Oiso Town, Toichiro Ikeda

2025.12.29

Passion develops people. Aiming to make Oiso a people-friendly town.

Educational History
Graduated from Kaisei Junior High School
Graduated from Kaisei High School
Graduated from the Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo (Epidemiology Department)
* Graduated from the University of Tokyo baseball team (participated in the Tokyo Big Six Baseball League)

Biography
1986: Joined the Ministry of Labor (currently the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
1991: Seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1993: Seconded to the Ministry of Finance
2015: Member of the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly (served for two terms)
2022: Appointed Mayor of Oiso

People who are passionate about what they love can shine wherever they are. Oiso Town in Kanagawa Prefecture is a town that supports such people. We spoke to Toichiro Ikeda, the mayor of Oiso, who supports young people with the goal of "creating Oiso, the most desirable town to live in in Japan."

■About my student days

As a member of the University of Tokyo baseball team, my college life was literally dominated by baseball. I enrolled at the University of Tokyo to overcome the disappointment of a shutout loss in the Tokyo preliminaries at Kaisei High School, where I practiced 365 days a year, morning to night. I was enrolled in the School of Health Sciences, a science-based program in the Faculty of Medicine. As part of the liberal arts curriculum, I was required to attend only physical education classes, and I commuted to Komaba University between practice sessions. My student life was completely devoted to baseball. To make up for the missed classes, I copied countless notes during exam season. Naturally, I couldn't memorize them all, so I slept with them as my pillow. League games and exams overlapped, and sometimes there were games on the weekend and exams on the Monday. In the winter, I commuted to university from a training camp in Kimitsu, Chiba, balancing practice and studies. Looking back now, I remember more the fulfilling time I spent immersed in baseball than the hardships. It wasn't until I entered the workforce that I became interested in politics.
After passing the national civil service exam, which is known to be quite difficult, and joining the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, I gradually came to understand more about Diet members while working on preparing budgets and documents, and I began to aspire to become a politician.

■ Working hard on policies for child-rearing generations and the elderly

My current priority in town administration is addressing Oiso Town's declining population. While comprehensively implementing policies in areas such as education, welfare, and regional development, I am constantly reviewing our progress and considering our next steps. Specifically, I have focused on creating systems to fully support the child-rearing generation, such as providing free elementary school lunches, free medical care for children up to the age of 18, and subsidizing lunch fees at municipal junior high schools (300 yen per person per day). At the same time, I aim to protect the livelihoods of our elderly residents by keeping nursing care insurance premiums for those 65 and older to the lowest in Kanagawa Prefecture.
At the same time, we're also putting a lot of effort into creating an exciting and fun town to live in. We've organized a series of exciting events for children and adults alike, including fireworks displays and water-gun events. This year, 18,500 people participated in the Oiso Festival, held in the parking lot of the Oiso Prince Hotel (the town's population is 30,000). Thanks in part to these efforts, Oiso Station was ranked first in Kanagawa Prefecture and fourth in the Tokyo metropolitan area in Daito Trust Construction's "Ranking of Towns (Station) Where People Want to Continue Living." However, the trend of population decline is not easily reversed, so we believe that a major theme going forward will be how to create a "livable environment" by, for example, promoting the supply of housing by utilizing vacant homes.
The field of education is also currently undergoing a major review. In order to further enhance English education, we are reassessing the way in which ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) are deployed, and we are also considering employment systems that are not bound by traditional frameworks and how to make the most of human resources from overseas.

The following three slogans symbolize the town's efforts.
☆ Childcare support "If you want to raise children, choose Oiso"
☆ Healthy and long life "Live in Oiso and enjoy good health"
☆ Fun town development "Everyone's excited about Oiso"

■Message to university students

During your four years at university, be sure to find something you can be passionate about. Having something to be passionate about makes hard work enjoyable, helps you develop your abilities, and enriches your life. It could be sports or music. You'll make friends and become a valuable asset once you enter society. And for a place that will support that growth, come to Oiso! The fish and vegetables are fresh and delicious, tuition is low, and you can even get a comfortable seat on your commute from Oiso Station. Take a new step in Oiso, a town that offers the three charms of "good food, cheap tuition, and a seat on the train."

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on July 5, 2025 by Chiharu Yamada, second-year student at the University of Information, Management and Innovation