Sōichi Aikawa

Japanese politician (1942–2021)

Sōichi Aikawa (相川宗一, Aikawa Sōichi, 13 September 1942 – 25 January 2021) was a Japanese politician.

Biography

Aikawa was born in Urawa, Saitama. A graduate of Keio University, he was elected mayor of Urawa in 1991 and served for ten years. On 27 May 2001, he was chosen as the first mayor of the city of Saitama, which was founded on 1 May 2001 through the merger of Urawa and two neighboring cities. He governed Saitama for eight years until he lost to Hayato Shimizu in the mayoral election held in May 2009.^[1]

He died of respiratory failure.^[2]

References

"Aikawa wins 1st Saitama mayoral election". Find Articles. CBS Interactive. Kyodo. 28 May 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
Washino, Fumihiko (27 May 2009). 趣味はさいたま市相川市長が退任あいさつ. The Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). Chunichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.

^ "Shimizu wins in Saitama poll". The Asahi Shimbun. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ 初代さいたま市長・相川宗一さん死去　７８歳　浦和、大宮、与野の合併に尽力　政令指定都市の礎を築く Archived 2021-01-30 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)

Preceded by Kenkichi Nakagawa	Mayor of Urawa 1991–2001	City dissolved
Preceded by Isamu Ihara as acting mayor	Mayor of Saitama 2001–2009	Succeeded by Hayato Shimizu