Yogendra Puranik
Yogendra Puranik | |
|---|---|
Puranik in September 2019 | |
| Member of the Edogawa City Council | |
| Assumed office 2 May 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 June 1977 Ambarnath, Maharashtra, India |
| Party | Constitutional Democratic |
| Alma mater | |
Yogendra Puranik (Japanese: プラニク ヨゲンドラ Puraniku Yogendora, Marathi: योगेंद्र पुराणिक; born 3 June 1977), is an Indian-born Japanese politician and the first person of Indian origin to win an election in Japan.[1][2][3][4][5] He was elected to the Tokyo's Edogawa City assembly as City Councillor in April 2019. He was supported by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.[6][7][8][9]
In April 2022, Puranik was appointed as the Principal of Tsuchiura First High School in the Ibraraki prefecture.
Early life
Puranik was born in Ambarnath, Mumbai, India, on 3 June 1977 to his parents Rekha and Sharad Puranik.
Puranik started his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Ambarnath. He graduated from Sir Parashurambhau College under the Pune University with a Bachelor of Science degree with specializations in physics and mathematics. He also joined the Foreign Languages Department of the Ranade Institute of to study Japanese and German languages. He graduated with a diploma in information technology in May 1996 and an advanced diploma in Japanese language in May 1997.
Puranik was awarded another scholarship by the Japan Foundation to study in Japan for an academic year in September 1999.
Life in Japan
Puranic worked with multiple IT companies in India before moving to Japan in 2001. In Japan, he worked for the information technology companies Infosys Technologies Limited, Fujifilm, and Polaris Software Lab Limited before joining the Mizuho Bank in 2010 as Vice President of operations strategy. He later worked at Rakuten Bank as Vice Director of corporate planning.
Puranik started an Indian restaurant Reka in Tokyo in February 2013 as a social venture to spread Indian homestyle food in Japan.
Political career
Puranik announced his candidacy in the regional elections that took place in April 2019 in Japan. He is currently a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in Japan.
Puranik unsuccessfully contested in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in the 2021 election, finishing in 7th place out of 8 candidates, with 9.3% (20,109) of the vote.[10]
See also
- List of naturalized Japanese politicians
References
- ^ Sudeep, Theres (21 November 2020). "Indian-origin politicians around the world". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Megha Wadhwa (6 February 2020). "Yogendra 'Yogi' Puranik: The first Indian voice in Tokyo politics". Japan Times. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Ayako Hirayama (25 April 2021). "Indian-born politician drives for unity in diversity of Tokyo ward". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Pallavi Aiyar (6 July 2021). "In this book, meet Yogendra Puranik aka Yogi, Japan's first politician of Indian origin". Scroll. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Aiyar, Pallavi (8 June 2019). "The rare Indian face in Japan's political space". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "41-year-old man becomes first Indian to win an election in Japan". India Today. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- "Indian-origin 'Yogi' wins ward assembly elections in Japan". The Indian Express. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019. - ^ "So much to be done in India, says a desi neta from Japan". Deccan Chronicle. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Foreign-born candidate shows Tokyo, all politics are local". Nikkei Asia. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Theres Sudeep (21 November 2020). "Indian-origin politicians around the world". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "江戸川区 開票速報・結果 | 都議選2021 -東京都議会議員選挙-". NHK (in Japanese). 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
External links
- Reka Corp, a company managed by Yogendra Puranik