Miki Watanabe

Miki Watanabe
Miki Watanabe
渡邉美樹
	Watanabe in 2011
House of Councilors
	In office; July 29, 2013 – July 28, 2019
Personal details
Born	October 5, 1959 (age 65); Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Website	www.watanabemiki.net

Miki Watanabe GCM (渡邉美樹, Watanabe Miki, born October 5, 1959) is a Japanese entrepreneur and politician. He founded the Watami chain of izakaya restaurants and headed the company until 2011, when he resigned to run in the 2011 Tokyo gubernatorial election. Watanabe's run for the governorship of Tokyo was inspired by Michael Bloomberg's mayorship of New York City.^[1] Watanabe came in third with 16.8%, losing to incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara.

^ Koh, Yoree (7 March 2011). "Miki Watanabe, Tokyo's Mayor Bloomberg?". The Wall Street Journal. eISSN 1042-9840. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2014. The founder of Watami Inc., operator of a chain of 'izakayas,' or casual pubs, Mr. Watanabe is running in the Tokyo gubernatorial election April 10, attempting to make the jump from business manager to big-time politician. That might be a rare move in Japan, but it echoes the likes of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the former head of Hyundai Construction, and the comparison is not lost on the slick 51-year-old businessman.

[Koh_20110307-1] Koh, Yoree (7 March 2011). "Miki Watanabe, Tokyo's Mayor Bloomberg?". The Wall Street Journal. eISSN 1042-9840. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2014. The founder of Watami Inc., operator of a chain of 'izakayas,' or casual pubs, Mr. Watanabe is running in the Tokyo gubernatorial election April 10, attempting to make the jump from business manager to big-time politician. That might be a rare move in Japan, but it echoes the likes of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the former head of Hyundai Construction, and the comparison is not lost on the slick 51-year-old businessman.

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