Hideo Higashikokubaru

Hideo Higashikokubaru 東国原英夫

Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2012
Constituency	Kinki PR block^[1]
Governor of Miyazaki
In office 2007–2011
Preceded by	Tadahiro Ando
Succeeded by	Shunji Kono
Personal details
Born	(1957-09-16) September 16, 1957 (age 55) Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Political party	Japan Restoration Party (2012-present)
Other political affiliations	independent (2007-2012)
Spouse(s)	Kazuko Kato (1990-2006, divorced)
Alma mater	Senshu University
Occupation	Comedian, Politician
Website	http://www.sonomanmahigashi.net/

Sonomanma Higashi (そのまんま東, literally "Higashi without change" or "simply Higashi"^?), born September 16, 1957 as Hideo Higashikokubaru (東国原英夫, Higashikokubaru Hideo^?) in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, is a politician and former Japanese comedian who is most known for his role in the popular game show, Takeshi's Castle, and as the Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture from 2007 to 2011. He was succeeded by Vice Governor Shunji Kono. In 2011, he ran unsuccessfully against Tokyo Governor Shintarō Ishihara for the Tokyo governorship, ultimately coming in second. He plans to run again to replace the newly-resigned Ishihara in the gubernatorial election in December 2012.^[2]

Early life

Higashikokubaru graduated from Senshu University in the early 1980s. He entered Waseda University in 2000. At that time, he was in the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II. He graduated and re-entered, majoring in local autonomy, in March 2004, but dropped out in March 2006.

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Comedy

After graduating from Senshu University, Higashikokubaru apprenticed to Takeshi Kitano and became a comedian in 1982.

He appeared on Takeshi's Castle, which was dubbed on United States television as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC). On that show, he was dubbed as Kenny Blankenship.

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Politics

On January 21, 2007, Higashi was elected governor of Miyazaki Prefecture, replacing former governor Tadahiro Ando, who resigned after being arrested for bid rigging. He uses his official name (Hideo Higashikokubaru) as governor of Miyazaki.^[3]

In 2010, he decided not to run for re-election. He left office on January 20, 2011.

Higashikokubaru ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election on April 10, 2011, in which he lost to incumbent governor Shintarō Ishihara.^[4]

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Incidents

On December 9, 1986, Higashi was one of those who were arrested at the offices of Friday magazine, after he and other members of Takeshi Kitano's group attacked the magazine offices (among others spraying fire extinguishers) to protest a critical article about Takeshi Kitano that the magazine had published. All attackers were sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.

On October 13, 1998, a manager of a so-called image club (a type of brothel) was arrested for employing underage girls. A 16-year-old employee pointed Higashi out as one of her customers. He was interrogated several times by the police, but was not indicted as he claimed he did not know the girl was under 18. His then-wife apologized on his behalf to the Japanese public via the media, and he himself took a five-month voluntary break from his work as an entertainer.

On November 22, 1999, at a year-end-party held for Takeshi Kitano office employees, he kicked another participant in the head, injuring him. He was prosecuted for this, and fined, after which he again took a voluntary leave from his entertainment activity.

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Personal

Height: 171 centimetres (5 feet 7 inches)
Weight: 59 kilograms (130 lb)
Marital status: Divorced (Higashi and wife Kazuko Kato split in February 2006^[5])
Hobbies: Golf, marathon running

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