Meet the youngest-ever mayor in Japan's history | Ryosuke Takashima

0:03You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Most of us have likely had the same thought. My one voice doesn't really matter. Sometimes citizens think, oh, this is my personal problem or personal issue. So it's the kind of waste of time to speak up. But this is not true. So if someone speaks up and others agree with it, that personal issue becomes social issue. That's Ryosuke Takashima, the 2026 TED Fellow, who was elected as mayor of the city of Ashiya at just 26, making him Japan's youngest ever mayor. He built his approach to leadership around that idea that the moment you speak up and someone agrees, your personal problem becomes a shared one.

0:56And shared problems are the ones that actually get solved. For me, politics is not like profession or the kind of system. It's a work of designing something together with everyone, every single citizen, when we cannot all agree. And that kind of process is politics. TED Fellows are early stage innovators that TED finds and supports. You may have heard from some of them on this show before because I am a big fan of this program. It's a community of more than 500 TED Fellows around the globe that impacts more than 200 million people a year. They're not just improving broken systems. They are building a better future.

1:39In Ryosuke's case, his method comes down to listening to as many people as possible, especially the ones who usually go unheard. Why? Because he isn't just trying to improve a broken system. He's trying to build a better future for everyone. He's challenging the idea that government runs a city and the people who live there must just go along with it. In this episode, he shares how he tried to turn his city into a place where ordinary people, not officials, decide what their community becomes. And stick around after for Ryosuke's conversation with TED Fellows Program Director Lily James Olds. They get into how a self-described introvert ended up running for office at 26, what it's like to lead a city where a third of residents are older than you by decades, and why Ryosuke thinks trust between people and their government has to be rebuilt one conversation at a time.

2:32That's coming up right after a short break.

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5:08And now here's our TED story and conversation of the day. Sometimes citizens think, oh, this is my personal problem or personal issue. So it's the kind of waste of time to speak up. But this is not true. So if someone speaks up and others agree with it, that personal issue becomes social issue. With my administration, the city government actually did not make a town vision. Instead of that, citizens create a vision by themselves. And we, local governments, support the process. Because cities is citizens. Cities is not the government. I'm Takashima Ryosuke, the youngest mayor in Japanese history.

6:03I'm a mayor of Ashia City.

6:09I'm mayor, but I'm not a politician. My stance is actually very simple. I just listen to as many voices as possible, especially younger generations. The reason is very simple. Students under 18 couldn't vote. So I visited schools like junior high school and elementary school to hear their voice. But it's so hard for kids, for students to speak up their opinions to mayors, even if I am the youngest mayor. So what I did is eating school lunch together. and I repeatedly visit schools and I don't want to see like formal visit rather a casual visit casual chat with teachers and students I could create a kind of friendly atmosphere and I got more information rather than a formal visit for example some students told me their school gym so hot.

7:18So we decided to install air conditioner to every single school gym. I wanted to make school a place to learn and practice democracy. And it's all about communication and dialogue. I wanted to encourage people to speak up and listen to their voices and then reflect their voice. The main method is we hold dialogue meetings. It's a meeting with me, mayor, and citizens. Sit down together in a circle and talk with each other. And sometimes, mayors do not even speak up. Just listen or facilitate what citizens want to talk. So, for example, Asia is a very healthy city. Recently, we had the world's oldest person in Asia City.

8:17Around 30 % of citizens are over 65. In the dialogue meetings, I heard elderly people said our community center was too busy to ask some questions about their care. So I wanted to increase the number of community centers, but we needed some budget. So before, we had a monetary gift for elderly people. So we decided to change our monetary gift system from the one-time monetary gift to creating a new community center where elderly people and their families get some advice on wellness. Some people say monetary gift is a kind of symbol of respect. So some people argue that I have no respect to elderly people.

9:03But through the dialogue sessions, I explained why this is important. And why this actually benefited for elderly people. And also, I actually cut my future monetary gift. So this is not like others' problem. This is our problem. Finally, at the last, they understand why we need to change. They changed their opinion because they understood the process. In cherry blossom seasons, when cherry blossom blooms beautifully, local shops wanted to close down the street to enjoy food under the cherry blossoms. But for local residents, the proposal was simply inconvenient. So it's controversial. But when local citizens and local shops actually joined the process, and citizens proposed the plan, the proposal was a success.

10:07So citizens actually create a vision of town, not the government. People tend to think people who make society better is a kind of government or someone else. It's not ourselves. I wanted to change that mindset. It's everyone. It's every single person who can make society better and who can contribute to making society better. That is what I want to do. Thank you.

10:45That was Ryosuke Takashima. And Don't Go Away, coming up is a special conversation between Ryosuke and TED Fellows Program Director Lily James Olds, where they discuss the unlikely path that helped him evolve from a shy teenager studying abroad into a mayor. Ryosuke also reflects on what younger leaders can offer a rapidly aging country and how he tries to keep people's trust once he's earned it.

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11:51Riosuke, it's so good to get to talk to you and thank you for taking the time. Thank you very much for having me. Of course. I'm going to jump right in. I mean, I think what's so interesting about the idea you just shared is I think in some ways it's something that feels basic and that we all want, right, from our politicians. which is politicians are here to serve the people, you know, and follow the lead of the citizens. And I really appreciate your refreshing approach to restating that. I think the word politics is, it's so charged all over the world. I mean, especially right now. And I guess I just wanted to start this conversation by sort of framing, what does politics mean to you?

12:38Yeah, I mean, we usually describe political distrust as citizens not trusting politicians. But I think it's a different way. People, we have political distrust. But this is because politicians actually do not trust citizens. So I think that attitude of politician is the actual problem, the actual issue. And that is why people sometimes feel like people do not trust politicians or people do not trust politics. So for me, politics is not profession or the kind of system. It's a work of designing something together with everyone, every single citizen, when we cannot all agree. And this kind of process is politics.

13:29That is what I'm thinking now. I love that definition of politics as process. So I want to definitely get into that deeper in some of the examples that you give. I'd love to start just by getting a sense of how a little bit more background in your life. How did you come to that sense of politics is process? You know, from your childhood, from people around you, what was your experience growing up with politics in Japan? would love to just get a sort of flavor of how you came to that sense of politics as process. Oh, it's a big, big, big question. Okay, no family member was politician or involved in politics.

14:13So no experience at all. I also do not or have not trusted politics. It's very typical for Japanese people, I think. But for me, this one big moment changed my mind. It was when I was 6th grade. I mean, so 11 or 12 years old. Mayor of my hometown actually changed it. And the new mayor was 34 years old. It's a very young mayor. And I actually watched the town change dramatically. For example, the mayor actually visited our school. And a shopping street actually coming back to life. And even railway, the train actually extended. And when I was in high school, actually, I got a chance to meet our mayor.

15:03And he actually spent an hour talking with, I think, 15 years old student, me. And after talking with him, I realized, oh, the mayor or the city hall is kind of a person or an organization who actually can change society better most directly because they are close to citizens and they can empower citizens or encourage citizens to join the journey of making society better. That was the kind of what I realized after talking with him. And also I wanted to be the kind of mayor or student, like high school student or even elementary school student feel comfortable talking right now. That is kind of my role model still.

15:52I'm curious, do you think this is the beginning of a movement towards younger people getting into politics? I mean, I know that you had told me you're actually no longer, tell me if this is right, even the youngest mayor, that there's now another younger mayor. So I'm just curious where you think you fit in that kind of continuum. Is this something that you're seeing across Japan or even beyond? Yeah, I think so. I mean, actually in Japan, the number of younger mayor or younger politician actually increasing now. I don't think it's because of my election. But I think there is a kind of like big change right now.

16:34And one, I think one reason or one aspect is a kind of social media. Before that, it is actually so hard, very difficult for younger generation to run for the office and win the election. Because they do not have a kind of foundation. So in Japan, we say, if you want to win the election, you need to have three bang. One is jiban. It's a kind of foundation or local foundation, local connection. And the second is kanban. Kanban. means advertisement or poster or something like that. So it's kind of how famous you are. And the third is kaban, which means bag, which means you need to have a lot of money.

17:21Yeah, you're right. And younger generation do not have all three, right? But after emerging social media, younger generation, even younger generation can get more, how can I say, visibility. It is much easier for them to get known. Right. They have a kind of access to those platforms that probably they're even better and more literate, more versed at than some of the older politicians. Yes. So I feel I got supported by that platform as well. Not only by social media, but also by the internet or by the newer platform. And after experiencing the election, I felt younger citizens, or not only younger citizens, but also like citizens, the many citizens who wanted newer or younger generation involved in politics.

18:18So that is what I felt. And did that feel because people wanted something new, something fresh, something more connected to or relevant, I guess? Or what do you think that desire for younger politicians over sort of the seasoned, older, experienced politician, what do you think, at least in Japan, you're sensing from that shift that's happening? It's a kind of cliche, but people wanted their voice heard. And through social media or through the internet or other platforms, people feel their voice would be heard by politicians. Of course, like in the past, politicians heard people's voices and they reflected their voices.

19:09Of course, they did. But citizens tend to not get the feedback from politicians how their voices will be heard and how their voices influence the politics or process of politics or something. But after emerging social media or after emerging neural platform, they realize how their voice, citizens' voices, influence policies. What I mean is that the process was more transparent and visible to citizens. I think that's the key. That's so interesting because I think it goes right back to where we started this conversation, which is with trust as that foundation, right? That if that sense of utilizing these platforms actually to build some of those bridges and trust and not to replace the human connection, but as a way to actually listen and expand who is being listened to.

20:07Right. So that makes me think of the way you spoke about going into the schools and listening to the kids say that the gyms were hot and say, OK, we actually need to make a change here. We need to cool it off. And so I think in some ways that the platforms allow that to happen at a bigger scale, but you have to know how to use them to do that. Yeah, so it's maybe not all about age, but all about distance to citizens. Distance to citizens. Yeah, that's interesting. You mean how much access a politician gives? Not only physical distance, but also like mental distance. That's really fascinating. How do you think about that in your work?

20:51Because obviously there's so many people and there's one you. How do you structure your days so that people can have that kind of proximity to you? So, you know, Asia is not a big city. Our area is just 19 square kilometers. So what I'm doing right now is visiting as many local events as possible. That is what I'm doing now. And of course, a mayor's job is making some decisions. Of course, that's a very important job. But at the same time, I am the representative of a city. So I get so many invitations to local events or local community events or something like that. So I try to visit as many as possible and talk with citizens directly in person.

21:42and citizens have like so many ideas and so many opinions and feelings, but they do not have time to call City Hall and talk with City Hall staff directory. But when they see mayors, they would like talk with mayors in person. So through the process, I got so many opinions and so many ideas from the citizens directory. Do you think your ability to sort of think about, as you said, and I'm going to keep going back to politics as process, do you think that comes from being young? Is your youth sort of what you think allows you to think about things differently or have freedom to kind of think outside the box?

22:28Or do you think that's not about age and that comes more from life experience and who you're surrounded by and influences on your life? I say age is one aspect. I mean, I am allowed to ask some naive questions. Maybe because I'm young. I mean, people see me having a lot of experience and having a lot of knowledge. But since I'm young, I'm kind of allowed to ask so many questions to others. I think that is one of the advantages of being a young leader. That's really interesting and makes a lot of sense, actually. I think I'm giving far fewer instructions than questions to our city hall staff, but also to citizens as well, or even students, younger generations.

23:18Through asking so many questions, I gradually convey or tell citizens my philosophy or my value. That is the kind of process. I love that. And I think there's this sort of stereotype as politicians, leaders, mayors, as people who should have the answers, people who should know what's going on. They should be able to, you know, take charge and lead the way. I mean, maybe that's a very American stereotype, but still, you know. But I think in this particular case, it makes me think about even parenting, right? Like I have an eight-year-old and anybody who is a parent knows that the questions that your child asks you can drive you bananas because they're endless.

24:06But when you actually take the time to listen, you realize that with the asking of the naive questions, there's not an assumption of the way things should be, right? And like, for example, the other day, my kid had asked, why do we go to school five days of the week and only have weekends two days? And it kind of stopped me in my tracks, right? In the line with what you're saying, because it was like, that's actually a very good question. Yes. So I really appreciate what you're saying as a kind of leadership approach also of just, yes, I'm going to lead through asking questions rather than instructing.

24:48instructing. It's really fascinating. Yeah, so for some people want a strong leader who decide everything and making so many difficult decisions. I know this is a kind of one style of leadership, but I don't want to become that kind of leader because I believe the culture built around one visible strong leader is fragile because it disappears when that leader leaves. And I am not the final, last mayor of my city. So I need to think about, of course, like current city, but also the city after I step down. So that is why I wanted to create a culture rooted in citizens, which doesn't disappear that easily.

25:38That is what I'm thinking about. Don't go away. We'll be right back with more of Ryosuke's conversation with Lily after a short break.

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26:27You know, maybe we could speak a little bit more deeply about one of the examples you give that I think highlights that shift to this kind of culture of citizens, which was the example of redirecting the funds from individual payments to the elderly, which you had spoken about, to a, you used the word community center instead. But I think what was interesting to me that I wanted to go a little deeper on is when you were explaining to me kind of what you mean by community center, You said that there's a bit of a different definition in Japanese that doesn't quite mean a general purpose space or a recreation center.

27:10So I'd love if you could tell us what is the word in, for those of us who don't speak Japanese, what is the word in Japanese? And how would you describe that kind of space, that redirection, right, of funds from individuals into that community center and model and how that kind of highlights what you're speaking to right now? Yeah, so in Japanese, it's called Koreisha Seikatsu Shien Center, which means like center supporting elderly people, like elderly people's lives. So what we're trying to do is actually very simple. We wanted to answer the citizens' needs. That's it. We hold 16 dialogue meetings a year.

27:51And there's one citizen who raised the question or the ideas. and they simply do not have many opportunities to ask something about their old parents. Do you know what I mean? So they want to talk with experts how to care. I see, yeah. They needed help in caring for their aging parents. Yes, yes, yes. And since in our city, more than 30 % of our cities are over 65, So the export staff are very busy and citizens simply couldn't ask some questions to them. So what I did is very simple. So it increased the number of care staff and care center. Did I answer the question? Yeah, yeah. But I think back to where we started this conversation, Not everybody always agrees on what the right thing is, on how to utilize funds.

28:56I'd love to hear in that sense of process a little bit more, how do you deal with those difficult conversations or sticky points to come to a decision, to come to a resolution as a mayor when people do not agree? Obviously, this is happening everywhere all the time, and I think we're seeing it increasingly. But just that ability of like us, them, this, that, we don't believe in, you know, how do you as a mayor across political divide, right? How do you build those bridges? How do you build really that trust? What I think is very simple and what I try to do is very simple. I think key is mutual understanding.

29:37mutual understanding of citizens, like citizens' needs or citizens themselves, and also sharing our common or shared vision. I think these two are key. And sometimes their favorable policies are different. So in that case, some people are for or agree keeping monetary gift for elderly people, but some people do not. So their opinions are different. But what is different is not vision, right? There should be our common vision, which is we want every single citizen to spend their happier life in Asia City. That is the common shared goal. So what I want to try is separating a vision from a method or a way.

30:34And sometimes people do not agree with a specific method or specific policy. But we try to explain why that specific policy benefits you through achieving our shared common goal. That is what I did. We decided to abolish our monetary gift, 20 ,000 yen at 88 years old citizens and 30 ,000 yen at 100 years old citizens. But thinking about the average lifelong age, the 20 ,000 yen is a kind of one-time gift which not many citizens can receive. So instead of that, we try to make the environment where every single citizen, including elderly people or including family of elderly people, can easily access exports.

31:32And that is not a one-time gift. That is a lifelong gift. So that is how I try to explain. You said that simple, but I actually feel like that's pretty profound, right? Just in this current culture of culture wars and everyone sort of saying, again, just us, them, we don't agree on anything. I think just that practice of what do we share? What do we actually all want? Right? That as a starting point, and I guess a reminder in these kinds of conversations and in this political process, does feel like it's a way to bring us back to what is shared together, how we're on that same team, you know? So I think that's, it's really fascinating to hear how that has been working in practice.

32:27I'm curious how being a mayor goes beyond the city limits. What are those responsibilities or ways that you're working with other mayors or cities, both nationally and I'm also even curious if internationally, there's any connections or collaborations? Of course, my top priority is Asia and Asia citizens. Of course, that is my top priority. But at the same time, I believe if we wanted to make Asia better or if we wanted to make our society better, we need to think about other cities and other towns and maybe other countries. Like other cities are not rival. We are the kind of peers to make our society better.

33:20Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Are there other cities or mayors that are inspiring the work that you're doing in Ashia now or that you think have a particular process of politics or engagement with citizens that's inspiring to you? Yes, yes, yes. We usually contact each other and talk with each other and share what was successful and what was unsuccessful. And especially younger generation, younger mayors talk with each other and we sometimes collaborate and do something and even internationally. So it sounds like there's actually also that sense, as you spoke about in your community of trying to make everyone kind of feel on the same team, the shared goal.

34:06There's that kind of collaboration also with other mayors and cities. Yes, exactly. I wanted to ask one last question, which I think is important, given the terrain that we've covered of politics as process and how do you create trust between politicians and citizens. So for someone listening right now who has never spoken up about something in their own town or city and maybe doesn't even know where to start, what would you recommend? How would you say they might start to advocate for things that are important to them in their community? It might be better not to start speaking up, but to start taking some small actions.

34:55So for example, one day a citizen shared what she is doing in daily life with me. And she actually cleaned her clothes at 8 a.m. every single day. And that's actually helping others. Because she hangs out laundry watching the kids going to school along the street. And so what she's doing is keeping eye to children, to students, and watching so that nothing happens. I see. So she strategically decided when to do her laundry so that she could simultaneously be helping the community and keeping track of the kids' safety. Yes, yes, yes. Very tiny, right? I mean, hanging out the laundry 8 a.m. Very tiny thing.

35:50And I think there are a lot of people hanging out with the laundry without thinking that action makes society better. So I think the first step should be reflecting what you are doing in daily life. And thinking about some of that action, some of daily lives kind of help others. I think so reflection is a kind of first step. Right. So reflecting on the structure, basically, the ins and outs of your daily routine, and what are those things that you're already doing for your community, and what are the ways that maybe the pattern of your day intersects with others in ways that you could be helpful or contribute to making city or spaces better for all of us.

36:42I could talk about this on and on forever. I'm so grateful, Ryosuke, for this in-depth conversation and getting to hear more about the way you think about being a mayor and being a citizen, really. Thank you very much. I enjoy a lot. Thank you.

37:03You were listening to Ryosuke Takashima in conversation with Lily James Olds. To learn more about the TED Fellows program, which supports a network of global innovators, and to watch all of the TED Fellows films, just go to fellows.ted.com. And that's it for today. This episode was produced by Lucy Little, edited by Alejandra Salazar, and fact-checked by Ava Dasher. The audio you heard at the top comes from the short film made by Divya Gadongi and Owen McClain, and story edited by Corey Hajim. Additional support from Lily James Olds, Leonie Horster, and Allegra Pearl. This episode was mixed by Steve Bone.

37:44TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. Our team includes Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Taubner, and Tonsika Sangmarnivong. Additional support from Daniela Ballarezzo, Valentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Lainey Lott. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thank you.

38:36Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. The new Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer is now at McDonald's. Made with freeze-dried dragon fruit and made to lock in. The all-new Energizer. Now at McDonald's. On the TED Radio Hour, the climate movement is missing a trick, according to happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn. So I don't think that promoting self-denial is a winning strategy. Habits that will make you happier and help the environment, too. That's next time on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.

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