An unusual campaign by Mieko Yoshimura, the 63-year-old governor of Yamagata Prefecture, to promote a famous local product is drawing mixed reactions from local residents.
In April, Yoshimura stunned prefectural officials when she suddenly put on a huge red headdress shaped like a cherry, with a long green stem protruding from the top. She was delivering a speech in a large hall of the prefectural government building.
Cherries are one of Yamagata Prefecture's most important agricultural products.