Governor of Miyazaki 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 used his official name (Hideo Higashikokubaru) as governor of Miyazaki. He declared a state of emergency in Miyazaki during a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in May 2010. He decided not to run for re-election in 2010, and left office on January 20, 2011. Later activity Higashikokubaru ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election on April 10, 2011, in which he lost to incumbent governor Shintarō Ishihara. Both Higashikokubaru and Ishihara ran as proportional representation candidates for the Japan Restoration Party in the December 2012 general election for the House of Representatives. Higashikokubaru resigned from the JRP in December 2013 stating that "the political ideology and policies of the Japan Restoration Party as well as their directions have changed and they are now far different from mine." Following the resignation of Tokyo governor Naoki Inose on December 19, Higashikokubaru was widely rumored to be a potential candidate for the gubernatorial election in February 2014. He denied that he had resigned in order to run for the governorship, saying "the timing is a little too good. People would suspect I'm up to something. I'm not. For me, [Inose's resignation] is just troublesome." On January 10 he stated that he had "2,000%" "no scheme, plan, or intention" to run. Personal Higashikokubaru is an active runner and has completed several marathons. He ran the Lake Saroma ultra-marathon in 13 hours in June 1995, and has also run the Gold Coast Marathon and Okinawa Marathon three times each. He also played handball in high school and competed in the National Sports Festival of Japan in 1975. Filmography Movies Shōjo (2001) Getting Any? (1995) Shishiohtachi no natsu (1991) Ultraman Saga (2012) Television Waratteru Baai desu yo! (1980) Oretachi Hyokinzoku (1981–1989) Owarai Star Tanjo (1983) Super Jocky (1983–1990) Takeshi's Castle (1986–1990) Darenimo ienai (1993) References External links Miyazaki pref. page Hideo Higashikokubaru official page 1957 births Living people Japan Restoration Party politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Japanese comedians Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Japanese actor-politicians Politicians from Kagoshima Prefecture People from Miyakonojō Tokyo gubernatorial candidates Waseda University alumni Governors of Miyazaki Prefecture