Kochi Gov. Masanao Ozaki, who took office in December as the nation's youngest governor, is well aware he cannot emulate what his Miyazaki counterpart, Hideo Higashikokubaru, has achieved over the past year.
The popular TV comedian-turned-governor Higashikokubaru grabbed the media's attention last year following his stunning poll win last January. He has since used his massive media exposure and frequent appearances on TV talk shows to plug his prefecture and its local products to a national audience.
But this tack won't work for every governor, the 40-year-old Ozaki said in a recent interview. "I'm not well-known like Gov. Higashikokubaru, so I'm not planning to tread the same path."