Hiroshi Nakada was elected Mayor of Yokohama on 8 April 2002, becoming the youngest person ever to head one of Japan’s major cities. In April 2006, he was re-elected for his second term.

Mayor Nakada was nominated as the Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) in 2003 and Young Global Leader (YGL) in 2005 by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Prior to assuming the Mayoral position in Yokohama, Hiroshi Nakada served three terms as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan.