the assembly of Osaka Prefecture. Running from his hometown, the Takatsuki electoral district, he estimated that he would require 13,000 votes to gain a seat. Though in the past, he had held on to his South Korean nationality as an expression of his identity, and joined campaigns demanding suffrage for foreign residents, he naturalised for the express purpose of representing foreign residents and other minorities in local politics. If elected, he would have been Osaka's first ethnic Korean assembly member; he hoped that his campaign would provide an opportunity for Koreans who had taken up Japanese nationality to strengthen their ethnic identity and express it openly to the society at large. However, in the end, out of six candidates competing for five seats, he came in last, with only 2,543 votes out of 127,646 cast (compared to 19,475 for the fifth-place candidate). See also References 1954 births Living people Community activists Japanese politicians of Korean descent Japanese people of South Korean descent Japanese political candidates Naturalized citizens of Japan People from Takatsuki, Osaka South Korean expatriates in Japan Zainichi Korean people