Harue Kitamura, who served as the mayor of Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture for three terms and 12 years as the first female mayor in Japan, died of aspiration pneumonia on the morning of the 13th.
She was 93 years old.
After becoming a lawyer in 1959, Mr. Kitamura from Kyoto City was elected as the first female mayor in Japan in the 1991 Ashiya mayoral election, and served as mayor for three terms and twelve years.
During this time, she took the lead in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, and immediately after the earthquake, she stayed at the city hall and spearheaded her efforts to restore and reconstruct the city.
In 2004, after she retired from the mayor, she was awarded the Asahi Nichinaka Hosho in recognition of her woman's path to becoming the top of the local government.
According to Ashiya City, Mr. Kitamura was ill last year due to a stroke, but she died on the morning of the 13th at a hospital in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, due to aspiration pneumonia.
She was 93 years old.
Mayor Mai Ito of Ashiya City commented, "I have great respect. I deeply respect her achievements and pray for a peaceful sleep."