井原健太郎

Kentaro Ihara is a Japanese politician currently serving his fifth term as the Mayor of Yanai City in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Born in Tabuse, he graduated from Waseda University and spent time studying in the United States. He began his professional career as a secretary to House of Representatives member Hideo Hiraoka. After an initial unsuccessful bid for the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly in 2007, he was first elected Mayor of Yanai in 2009. Although he initially entered office with support from non-LDP factions, he later joined the Liberal Democratic Party in 2017 and has since maintained his position through multiple re-elections.