Sōichirō Takashima became the youngest mayor in Fukuoka City history at the age of 36. Now in his fourth term, he has been nominated for the World Mayor Prize and was the first Japanese mayor to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. Takashima has utilized Fukuoka’s status as a National Strategic Economic Zone to enact structural renewal and deregulation, such as the Startup Visa Programme, corporate tax reductions, and deregulating building height restrictions. He has been a forerunner leading Japan’s startup movement and policies.