Born in 1969 in Takeo City, Saga Prefecture. Joined the Management and Coordination Agency (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) in 1993.
After serving in the Cabinet Office on Okinawa affairs, at the Secretariat of the Headquarters for the Administrative Reform of the Central Government, and as Director of the Mayor's Office of Takatsuki City, he left the Ministry in 2004 as Deputy Director of the Secretarial Division, Minister's Secretariat.

In 2005, he became Mayor of Takeo at 36, then the youngest mayor in Japan.
He attracted the TV drama "Saga no Gabai Baachan," transferred the city hospital to private management, and created the Takeo City Library, which draws more than one million visitors a year. He was named by AERA and in Nikkei BP's "100 People Who Will Rebuild Japan," and was praised by media for "putting Takeo, a city of only 50,000, on the national map."

After losing the Saga gubernatorial election in January 2015, he now heads Hiwatashi Shachu, a community-development company, while working as a visiting university professor, TV commentator, and speaker, and planning regional revitalization projects.

As Secretary-General of the Association of Mayors for Creating Vibrant Regions, he advises the Diet and government on realizing ride-sharing.

Born November 18, 1969 (Takeo City, Saga Prefecture)
March 1988: Graduated from Saga Prefectural Takeo High School
March 1993: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo
April 1993: Joined the Personnel Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency (now MIC)
April 1994: General Affairs Division, Minister's Secretariat, Management and Coordination Agency
April 1996: Chief, Coordination Section, Promotion Bureau, Okinawa Development Agency
December 1997: Senior Officer, Cabinet Secretariat (Preparatory Office for the Basic Law on Central Government Reform)
July 1998: Senior Officer, Secretariat of the Headquarters for the Administrative Reform of the Central Government
January 2000: Deputy Counsellor, Cabinet Office (Preparatory Office for the New Okinawa Law)
April 2002: Deputy Counsellor, Management Office, Minister's Secretariat, MIC (public-interest corporation reform)
April 2003: Director, Mayor's Office, Takatsuki City (on secondment from MIC)
December 2005: Deputy Director, Secretarial Division, Minister's Secretariat, MIC (left MIC)
April 2006: Became Mayor of Takeo (first term)
October 2007: Visiting Professor, Kansai University
December 2008: Mayoral election (re-run election)
April 2010: Mayoral election (second term)
April 2014: Mayoral election (third term)
January 2015: Saga gubernatorial election (defeated)
February 2015: Founder & CEO, Hiwatashi Shachu
June 2015: Outside Director, Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan
July 2015: Secretary-General, Federation of Mayors for Regional Revitalization Using the Olympics and Paralympics
December 2015: Visiting Professor, Graduate School, Kwansei Gakuin University
November 2016: Secretary-General, Federation of Mayors for Countermeasures Against Child Poverty
July 2017: Chairman, National Vacant House Bank Promotion Organization (ZAB) (until December 2021)
May 2019: Executive Committee Member, National Ouen-mura Executive Committee
October 2020: Founding Secretary-General, Association of Mayors for Creating Vibrant Regions
May 2024: Chairman, National Council of Local Governments for Ride-Sharing

As Chairman of the National Council of Local Governments for Ride-Sharing, he currently advises the Diet, the government, and local governments nationwide on realizing ride-sharing.