Narashino City Mayor Taisuke Miyamoto

2026.06.21

A unique life arrived at through trial and error in all kinds of experiences.

■ Profile
Born and residing in Yashiki, Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture in January 1973.
Graduated from Yachiyo Shoin High School and Shumei University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
In April 1999, at the age of 26, he was first elected to the Narashino City Council. Since then, he has held important positions such as Vice Chairman and served for three terms, totaling 12 years. Immediately afterward, in April 2011, he was first elected Mayor of Narashino City and is currently serving his fourth term.

Mayor Taisuke Miyamoto emphatically states, "Politicians are elected by the citizens, therefore they must be closer to their people than anyone else." We explored the charm of a city that constantly adapts to the times and remains close to its citizens.

■ To become a politician who works hard on the ground and is closest to the citizens.

Influenced by my father's work for an airline, my dream was to become a pilot, but the choice of subjects to study to achieve that goal became a major turning point.
At the time, while dedicating myself to baseball club activities, I also took all the subjects required to become a pilot, which resulted in an extremely difficult course of study (laughs). Despite being the student council president, my GPA plummeted, and I couldn't get a recommendation.
After that, not only was I unable to enter university as a regular student, but it took me four years to finally enter university at the age of 22. While we baby boomers' children were told that "you should only take up to two years off to make the most of a university degree," I desperately thought about "how to make the most of these four years."
Amidst all this, partly due to my major, I gained experience in political activities and helping with elections. Since I had a lot of part-time work experience before entering university, I was able to perform quite well on the ground.
In February, as graduation approached, I was helping out with the unified local elections two months later, and during that time, a vague idea began to sprout in my mind: "If I were to run for office, this is how I would want to be."
After leaving the election office where she had been helping out, she realized that there was an election in her own hometown, and since she also met the eligibility requirements (25 years of age or older), she instinctively felt that "this is something only I can do." With the intention of "putting into practice everything she had built up until then," she ran for the Narashino City Council election, and the result was a surprising victory.
Since becoming a council member, I have actively participated in community activities such as youth development programs and fire brigade activities. At the time, it was common for people with such experience to run for council, but I was the opposite. After becoming a council member, I became even more involved on the ground and did various things together with everyone.
Twelve years after becoming a city council member, the then-mayor announced he would not run in the next election. I decided to run for mayor at that time, and thanks to your support, I am still in office today.
The four years before entering university were a time of great ups and downs. However, the experiences I had with my parents and friends, who always greeted me when I returned home, and the large vehicle driver's license I obtained at the beginning of university, formed the foundation of my confidence.
I'm quite particular about things, but I can fully commit to any role.
I think that's my strength.

■ Inheriting the legacy of an "educational residential city" and creating a new urban form that is in line with the times.

In 1970, Narashino City enacted the "Charter for a Cultural, Educational, and Residential City." The mayor at the time was a progressive figure, and in a manner reminiscent of a "big government," he built a kindergarten in addition to the existing Narashino Municipal High School, making it equivalent to compulsory education.
In the 50s, when Narashino City had 15 municipal kindergartens despite being the smallest city in Japan by area, it was a city that attracted attention from all over the country, with people saying, "If you're raising children, Narashino is the place to be." However, the needs of the times shifted to daycare centers that supported dual-income families, and kindergartens began to suffer from a serious shortage of children.
Approximately 20 years ago, Narashino City became the first city in the prefecture to establish a "children's center," a combined kindergarten and nursery school concept promoted by the national government. Last year (2025), they completed their initial plan to establish children's centers in all seven junior high school districts within the city. This initiative to develop children's centers with attached "children's centers" staffed by childcare support concierges in every junior high school district is extremely rare nationwide and a feature to be proud of.
Furthermore, facing the challenge of "the aging of many public facilities," a characteristic of large governments, Narashino has taken the lead nationwide in "revitalizing" facilities. For example, as part of the public facility revitalization project in the area south of Keisei Okubo Station, they introduced the PFI method, and the "Platz Narashino Lifelong Learning Complex," which was revitalized using a combination of new construction and renovation, has become a popular spot with a café (Philocophia) run by the world's best barista next door, where the aroma of coffee fills the library. Of course, many people gather there every day quite naturally.

■ Towards Narashino, where face-to-face interactions will expand even further.

Narashino City is an attractive city with a compact size and convenient transportation. However, perhaps because it is surrounded by larger cities, information tends to get lost in the crowd.
This situation was particularly acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted us to start broadcasting "Narashino Mayor's News" on the official Narashino City YouTube channel. As of April 2026, the channel has over 8,000 subscribers, which is approaching 10% of all households in the city. This is quite good compared to the rest of the country. While there are many people who don't know the mayor of their own municipality, Narashino City is broadcasting the mayor's "real face" almost every week (laughs).
A major challenge going forward is "how we interact with each other." In an information society, with population decline and an aging society progressing simultaneously, it is said that "loneliness" is on the rise. From an administrative standpoint, this means "responding to individual situations with a small number of people," but in 14 years, when the baby boomer generation, currently in their 50s, begins to age, we will reach the peak of the decline in the workforce. This raises concerns about increased social security costs and economic contraction.
With this future in mind, Narashino City is working to create a city where everyone can live out their lives with peace of mind. This involves compensating for population decline with the convenience of digital technology, while simultaneously fostering direct, face-to-face interaction and consciously building relationships where people can help each other in any situation.
Therefore, starting in April 2026, we have adopted "A city where diverse and rich exchanges flourish" as our vision for the city 16 years from now, aiming to create a society where everyone, regardless of generation or position, can connect with others throughout their lives and live a vibrant life.

■Message to university students

The information society is accelerating at an accelerating pace. The sheer volume of information means an endless stream of choices, leading to endless worries. We are living in an era of diversification and individualization. In this age where we cannot conform to a single mold, I believe adaptability is essential. Experience is indispensable for adaptability, and while people used to say, "Seek out hardship when you're young!", there's no need to worry. Nowadays, hardship comes "without fail."
Therefore, if you simply go about your daily life without becoming negative, you will achieve certain results. I am grateful for this fortunate era and for living in peaceful Japan.
Don't give up on your potential after one failure. As I experienced myself, opportunities are always right in front of you. Even if you take a roundabout route, I believe that experience will definitely be useful somewhere down the line, so don't be too stressed, and just live each day to the fullest.
There's a term called "lifelong learning," which refers to the act of continuing to learn and acquire knowledge throughout one's life. Wouldn't it be better to enrich one's life through experiences and naturally embrace opportunities?

Interview with Risa Ukita, a second-year student at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, published on December 17, 2025 by Student Newspaper Online