“Too Cute” Tokyo City councilwoman has Japanese Netizens swooning

ScreenHunter_183 Jun. 26 14.00

Judging by the sheer volume of these kinds of posts we do, one does get the impression that, while bored westerners are inclined to seek out cute cat videos on the Internet, Japanese Netizens with nothing better to do apparently like to scour the web for pictures of very attractive women working in jobs where being cute isn’t a prerequisite. While you’d think this would be a relatively niche interest when there’s perfectly good adult material available around the corner, “Beautiful Woman Doing Things” posts are everywhere on the Japanese net.

So, without further ado, here’s the latest Beautiful Woman Doing Things from Japan: Hachioji City councilwoman Azusa Sato.

［ホームページ］あずさジャーナルを更新しました。「新人議員研修と公共施設の視察」 http://ift.tt/1Jdf6br 問題意識を触発させられる有意義な1日でした。 http://t.co/wY0OUURgxa
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佐藤あずさ (@azusa_sato11) May 21, 2015

Sato was born in 1984, apparently in a remote area of Gifu Prefecture, a landlocked prefecture just north of Nagoya known for its natural beauty and old-timey villages. She says she spent most of her childhood and teen years there – where her upbringing in the boonies gave her a sort of down-to-earth, aaw-shucks charm in her political endeavors – before moving to Tokyo in 2004 to attend Sophia University and study German. The well-traveled Sato also lived in Australia for a time on an exchange program, before getting a job in 2009 as a journalist at Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, although she quickly quit to return to her studies and eventually become the councilwoman she is today.

In keeping with Japanese politicians’ almost relentlessly bubbly personas, Sato has listed a bunch of cutesy stuff on her official website bio, like her hobbies and favorite phrases. It appears she likes taking walks, going to cafes, reading, and watching sports. Her favorite phrases are “Hope is born of conviction” and something (the Japanese is rather vague) along the lines of “Democracy is about people having the courage to speak their minds”.

［ホームページ］あずさジャーナルを更新しました。「『市長と語る』に参加／高尾地域の住民のみなさんの問題意識」 http://ift.tt/1QVN6A0 http://t.co/xMdSiWGk3g
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佐藤あずさ (@azusa_sato11) May 16, 2015

Sato’s various political platforms include:

1) Improving education for young children

2) Various neighborhood vitalization programs

3) Public safety and wellness

Granted, without the issues of gun rights, crime, military spending, abject poverty and whatnot to worry about, most local-level Japanese politicians run on more or less the same flowery, vaguely defined platforms, but Sato definitely seems smart and proactive… in addition to being heart-meltingly cute.

Anyway, we know you came for the pictures Japanese net users have been swooning over, so here you go:

本日は「高尾599ミュージアム」の内覧会でした。 http://t.co/N0Q8YMpOWU
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佐藤あずさ (@azusa_sato11) June 25, 2015

一橋大学にお邪魔して、大学院法学研究科の阪口正二郎教授(憲法学)にお話を伺って来ました。阪口教授はテレビ朝日の「報道ステーション」のなかでも、今回の安全保障関連法案の違憲性について指摘しています。 http://t.co/eAMTNTs1rR
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佐藤あずさ (@azusa_sato11) June 23, 2015

［ホームページ］あずさジャーナル更新。「【安全保障関連法案】八王子市議会における意見書審議について」 24日(水) 10:00〜。みなさん是非傍聴にいらして下さい。インターネット中継も。 http://ift.tt/1Jdf6bw http://t.co/q0pNej7N5K
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佐藤あずさ (@azusa_sato11) June 22, 2015