When 38-year-old Naomichi Suzuki was elected governor of Hokkaido in April, he simultaneously achieved another feat: becoming the youngest serving prefectural leader in the nation.
Although some initially counted on the young Suzuki to be communicative, or even outspoken, he has so far trodden carefully, prompting criticism that he has stuck to scripts prepared by bureaucrats rather than using his own words to get the message across. That has led to him being a nicknamed a "safe driver."
One of his self-proclaimed strengths lies in his ties with the central government, and he has already used this to his advantage in reshuffling personnel in his own administration.