Yusuke Nakano, Mayor of Hamamatsu, Japan

A Japanese mayor who believes immigration will revitalise his city

By The Immigrant Times

Yusuke Nakano, Mayor of Hamamatsu, which is the home of several musical instrument factories and is the main base and founding city of Yamaha. The company began nearly 150 years ago in Hamamatsu, manufacturing organs and evolving into the success it is today. The city’s only skyscraper is built in the shape of a harmonica

August 2025: In a country where many politicians take an overly cautious and timid approach to immigration, Yusuke Nakano stands out as a mayor with a bold vision. Since assuming office in May 2023, Nakano has positioned Hamamatsu, a city of 770,000 nestled between Tokyo and Nagoya, not just as a regional hub of industry, but as a laboratory for diverse urban renewal.

Born in Hamamatsu in 1970, Nakano graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in economics before embarking on a career in Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. His trajectory through key administrative roles, from Kyoto to Hokkaido, shaped his expertise in local governance, fiscal reform, and disaster resilience. By the time he returned to his hometown to run for mayor, Nakano had already served as Vice Governor of Hokkaido and as a senior aide to Japan’s Minister for Regional Revitalisation

Hamamatsu’s population is projected to decline by 10 per cent by 2040. Nakano has responded not with austerity, but with openness. Under his leadership, the city has embraced foreign workers, particularly engineers and technicians from India and Brazil, as essential to its economic survival and recovery. Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda, headquartered in Hamamatsu, have ramped up recruitment from abroad, while the city subsidises language classes and cultural outreach to help immigrants settle

In 2024, Hamamatsu became the first Japanese city to offer municipal subsidies for Japanese language education tied to long-term residency goals. The move was praised by employers and immigrant-supporting groups as a model for rights-based integration.

Hamamatsu’s official website now offers real-time translation in 10 languages. Public signage is increasingly multilingual. And Nakano’s administration has partnered with local media to launch Hamamatsu Voices, a monthly column written by immigrant residents in their native languages, with Japanese translations side-by-side.

This approach marks a departure from Japan’s traditionally insular stance on immigration. Nakano’s administration is even exploring international schools and long-term visa pathways to retain talent. It’s a pragmatic pivot, but also a quietly radical one.

Nakano’s vision extends beyond borders. In 2025, he signed a Sister City agreement with Ahmedabad, India, aiming to foster collaboration in urban planning, education, and sustainability. The pact complements Hamamatsu’s annual India Festival, a celebration of cross-cultural exchange that reflects Nakano’s belief in diplomacy from the ground up.

In a recent interview with The Nikkei, Mayor Nakano said that Hamamatsu needed to do something Japan had often been hesitant to do: actively recruit immigrants to bolster its dwindling stock of residents and workers. “The declining population is extremely damaging to the local economy. We are trying to do something about it,” Nakano said in the interview. “The key question will be how many people from abroad we can attract, and how gradually we can slow down this population decline.”

Unfortunately, after the 2008 financial crisis, fearing mass unemployment, the Japanese government offered immigrants financial incentives to return to their home countries. That was a big mistake, believes Mayor Nakano. “In future, Japan must offer foreign residents a life-long perspective.”

It is not just immigrants who need to believe that Hamamatsu can offer them a long-term future. Right now, too many young people who are leaving the city to study in Tokyo and other large cities find little reason to come back. The Mayor said that the city could compete with the excitement and glamour of Tokyo or Osaka. “But we can offer young people a place where they can start a family, and we will provide them with opportunities and incentives to set up their own businesses.”

Yusuke Nakano said his personal philosophy was ‘Never forget your original intention’. “I feel a deep affection for my hometown and believe, if we succeed, Hamamatsu will become a role model for other medium-sized Japanese cities.

Tokyo, Osaka and Hamamatsu, a very brief comparison

Tokyo, with its vast bureaucracy and international sheen, has made strides in offering multilingual services and hosting global events. But its immigration policies remain largely reactive, shaped by national directives and economic cycles. Foreign residents often face fragmented support systems and limited pathways to long-term integration.

Osaka, known for its vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods like Ikuno and its history of Korean-Japanese activism, has implemented some progressive local measures. Yet its policies tend to focus on coexistence rather than structural inclusion—leaving gaps in employment access, education equity, and political representation.

Hamamatsu, by contrast, is proactively designing immigration as a pillar of urban renewal. Mayor Nakano’s administration isn’t just accommodating immigrants—it’s recruiting them. From subsidised language education to municipal-level visa advocacy, Hamamatsu treats foreign residents as co-architects of the city’s future, not just economic stopgaps.

Under Yusuke Nakano’s predecessor, Yasutomo Suzuki, who served as Mayor of Hamamatsu from 2007 to 2023, the city joined the Intercultural Cities Network, a coalition of cities that stand for pluralism, equity and human rights. In May 2024, Yasutomo Suzuki was elected Governor of the Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu is the prefecture’s largest city.

People: > Ardem Patapoutian, Nobel Prize winner > Aissata M B Camara, NYC Commissioner > Ryyan Alshebl, German Mayor > Yusuke Nakano, Mayor of Hamamatsu, Japan <> French immigrant writers Mamadou Sow and Azuz Begag <

Further reading: > Japan debates immigration > Immigrants create Wealth <

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