was the mayor of Hiroshima from 1991 to 1999. Early life Takashi Hiraoka was born in Osaka to Tadao Hiraoka and Chitose Hiraoka (née Maeda). Initially, his parents had a delivery service in Osaka, but in 1934 the family business was hit by Typhoon Muroto, and the family moved to Unggi in Korea (present day Sonbong, North Korea), where his maternal grandfather Setsuzo Maeda held several private businesses. Later, the family moved to Seoul. During the Second World War, he studied medicine at Keijo Imperial University, but did not finish his studies. In summer 1945, worked as a volunteer for a chemical factory the Japanese Imperial Army had in Korea, then an occupied territory under the Japanese Empire, and remained in that position until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. He was away from the city of Hiroshima, and thus was spared any injuries due to the atomic attack on his city. As Japanese rule over Korea was over, all Japanese staying in Korea were required to return to Japan, and the family returned to Hiroshima in September 1945. After returning to Japan, he started studying science at the Hiroshima High School, his teacher being Prof. Tadayoshi Saika. In 1948, he graduated from that school, and then moved to Tokyo and studied German literature at Waseda University. Journalistic work Takashi Hiraoka graduated from Waseda University in 1952, and then joined the Chugoku Shimbun where he later became a managing editor. Served as president of RCC Broadcasting Company. During the 1960s worked as a journalist, writing mostly about Korean hibakusha, thus demanding from the Japanese government grant them the right to medical care in Japan. Term as Mayor of Hiroshima In March 1990, as mayoral elections was underway, Manzo Hamamoto, a member of the Upper House of the Diet from the Japanese Socialist Party, suggested to Hiraoka to run for mayor. He declined at first, also for lack of funding, but was persuaded to run as Osamu Hashiguchi, Chairman of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry, promised the required funding. He was elected mayor of Hiroshima in February 1991. Soon after becoming a mayor, Hiraoka had to deal with his first crisis, when on March 14, 1991, a bridge collapsed in Asaminami-ku, killing 15 people. Relatives of the dead filed a lawsuit against the Hiroshima municipality for compensations, but Mayor Hiraoka contended the city was not to blame. The lawsuit