Japan Governor skips national conference to meet Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

Nagasaki's Governor, Kengo Oishi, is facing a wave of resignation calls on social media after he chose to attend a football match featuring Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr against PSG over a national prefectural leaders meeting. 

The meeting, held on July 25-26 in Yamanashi Prefecture, saw Nagasaki being represented by the deputy governor on the second day, replacing Oishi who had attended the first day of the Tokyo meet before heading to Osaka for the pre-season friendly football the next day. 

The governor's July 26 itinerary included touring businesses in Osaka Prefecture for promotional activities, followed by attending a private event associated with Ronaldo.

During the event, he reportedly requested Ronaldo’s assistance in promoting Nagasaki Prefecture.

Oishi confirmed that he personally funded his ticket for the July 25 match. However, his travel and accommodation expenses were covered by the prefectural government, as reported by The Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

This action was criticized on Japanese social media platforms, with some users calling for Oishi's resignation.

A user quoted by the South China Morning Post on the FNN Prime Online news service expressed disappointment, stating: “As a governor, his primary duty should be his official responsibilities. His actions were inappropriate, and he should resign.”

Conversely, not everyone saw the issue as critical. 

Yuji Morikawa, a professor of international politics at Nagasaki University, commented that the matter was of little concern to many Nagasaki residents. 

“I would say that most people I know are not very interested, and as a resident of the prefecture and a taxpayer, I can’t say that it matters much to me either.”