Ichio Asukata
Ichio Asukata was a Japanese politician who served as chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, and as mayor of Yokohama from 1963 to 1978.
Asukata rose to prominence as a left-wing parliamentarian during the 1950s and was a vocal opponent of the 1960 security treaty with the United States.
As mayor of Yokohama he was a pioneer of progressive governance focused on improving quality of life, and inspired imitators in several other cities, including Tokyo governor Ryokichi Minobe.
As chairman of the JSP from 1977 to 1983, he attempted to expand the party's membership and realign its platform to a more European-style social democratic model, but was largely unsuccessful in boosting the party's standing.
