Part 1: Who leads Saiwai Ward? Miho Yamaguchi is a veteran city official who enjoys walks, good food and talking up her ward

Do you know the name of the mayor of the ward where you live?

We will be honest: our editorial team did not.

The current mayor of Saiwai Ward is Miho Yamaguchi. She is a veteran administrator with roughly 35 years at Kawasaki City, and her public profile also reveals two interests close to this site: walking and good food.

Quoted from: Town News, “Yamaguchi appointed Saiwai Ward mayor” (April 4, 2025)

What a ward office actually handles

The ward office handles work close to daily life, including disaster readiness, community groups, childcare support, local events and resident services. The mayor leads that administrative team and works with residents, organizations and businesses.

The Saiwai Ward Festival on October 17, 2026. Photo: Roots Lab. Gourmet Club

Studied psychology, joined City Hall in 1991

Yamaguchi is from Fukuoka and studied psychology at Yokohama National University. She joined Kawasaki City in April 1991.

Her work has covered national health insurance, resident feedback, international policy, community planning in Miyamae Ward, international business, civic culture and general administration. She became director of the General Affairs Department in 2023 and mayor of Saiwai Ward on April 1, 2025.

This account draws on Kawasaki City's personnel document and Town News' appointment report.

Does studying psychology mean reading minds?

Psychology is not magic, of course. The sources reviewed here do not explain how her university studies influence her present work.

What the record does show is long experience listening to residents and coordinating people with different roles. How psychology and administration connect is a question we would like to ask her directly.

Her background and university study are described in this Town News profile.

Her hobbies: walking and good food

A public profile from Saiwai 100 People Meetings lists walking and eating good food among her interests.

Those are two subjects Kawasaki Saiwai Biyori cannot ignore. Which route does she like? What does she eat in Saiwai? We hope to ask her someday.

Kawasaki Station West and MUZA Kawasaki. Photo: MaedaAkihiko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The character she chose for 2026: connection

Yamaguchi chose the Japanese character meaning “connection” to express her hopes for 2026.

Saiwai brings together longtime residents, newcomers, companies and research centers. She has emphasized face-to-face ties among those groups and has spoken about what she saw at summer festivals, sports days and boccia events.

Her remarks appear in this 2026 interview.

A “Saiwai Ward in 20 years” display at the ward festival. Photo: Roots Lab. Gourmet Club

Disaster readiness is where she gets serious

Yamaguchi has highlighted staying safely at home when conditions allow, cooperation with voluntary disaster groups, local drills and workable shelter operations.

No ward mayor can carry an entire ward through a disaster alone. Everyday ties among government, community groups and residents can help people act when an emergency comes. Here too, her theme of connection has practical meaning.

A veteran of many fields of city work

The public record shows a veteran official whose career stretches from resident relations to international policy, community planning, civic culture and administration. Her statements as ward mayor focus on community participation, disaster readiness and ties between longtime and newer residents.

The sources do not let us declare her personality or management style. “Saiwai fan” is therefore our editorial impression, not her own phrase.

Learning the ward mayor's name will not transform daily life overnight. It can, however, make a ward-office notice feel more like part of our own neighborhood story.

If we meet Yamaguchi, we want to ask about disaster preparation—and, just as eagerly, her favorite walk and meal in Saiwai.

In Part 2, we will take a closer look at her theme of “connection” through neighborhood groups, disaster readiness and sheltering at home.