Inside Lens

Road to Re-Election (2015x9)

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In the city of Sumida (Tokyo) where traditional cultural norms are the rule, Noemi Inoue has set out to change the city’s political landscape. She’s become the first non-Japanese woman in Japan to be elected to political office. Born in Bolivia, she pursued a high profile career at the Banco Central de Bolivia before landing a prestigious position at the United Nations in New York. That’s where she met her Japanese husband and eventually moved to Japan. She was elected to Sumida City Council on a platform of rejuvenating the city through tourism in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.