Hiroshi Hase | |
|---|---|
馳 浩 | |
.jpg) Official portrait, 2010 | |
| Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture | |
| Assumed office 28 March 2022 | |
| Monarch | Naruhito |
| Preceded by | Masanori Tanimoto |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | |
| In office 7 October 2015 – 3 August 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe |
| Preceded by | Hakubun Shimomura |
| Succeeded by | Hirokazu Matsuno |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 25 June 2000 – 14 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Okuda |
| Succeeded by | Takuo Komori |
| Constituency | Ishikawa 1st (2000–2003; 2005–2009; 2012–2021) Hokuriku-Shin'etsu PR (2003–2005; 2009–2012) |
| Member of theHouse of Councillors | |
| In office 23 July 1995 – 12 May 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Takashi Awamori |
| Succeeded by | Tetsuo Kutsukake |
| Constituency | Ishikawa at-large |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-05-05)5 May 1961 (age 64)[1] |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Senshu University[1] |
| Website | http://hase-hiroshi.org/ |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Hiro Hase Hiroshi Hase Viet Cong Express #1 |
| Billed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 105 kg (231 lb) |
| Billed from | Ho Chi Minh City,North Vietnam (as Viet Cong Express #1) |
| Trained by | Riki Choshu Stu Hart[2] Tokyo Joe[3] |
| Debut | February 28, 1986 |
Hiroshi Hase (馳 浩,Hase Hiroshi; born May 5, 1961) is a Japanese politician and semi-retiredprofessional wrestler who is currently thegovernor ofIshikawa Prefecture. As a professional wrestler, Hase primarily worked forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and also forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) andStampede Wrestling. During his affiliation with AJPW, he also served as the chairman for thePacific Wrestling Federation (PWF), which is the governing body for all championships in the promotion. Among his numerous title wins, Hase held theWCW International World Heavyweight Championshiponce, making him a one-timeworld champion.
From October 2015 until August 2016, Hase served as theMinister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology underPrime MinisterShinzō Abe and hisLDP party.[4] Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also served as a member of theHouse of Representatives of theNational Diet, representing the 1st district of Ishikawa Prefecture.[5]
Hase graduated fromSenshu University in March 1984. He then became a teacher of classic Japanese literature in a high school in Ishikawa Prefecture, before pursuing a professional wrestling career in 1985.[6]
Hase also became an amateur wrestler, representingJapan at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles. He placed ninth in theGreco-Roman wrestling tournament.
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Originally trained byRiki Choshu, Hase began his pro wrestling career in February 1986, training atCarlos Colón'sWorld Wrestling Council-affiliated training facility inPuerto Rico. Later that year, Hase went toCalgary,Alberta,Canada, where he was trained byStu Hart andKatsuji Adachi. He would wrestle inStampede Wrestling under a mask in a heel tag team known as theViet Cong Express withFumihiro Niikura, with whom he held theStampede International Tag Team Championship. By 1987, he turned face and started to wrestle under his name and unmasked in Stampede Wrestling. By the end of 1987, Hase would return to Japan.
When he returned to Japan, Hase wrestled for NJPW'sjunior heavyweight division, winning theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship twice. He defeatedKuniaki Kobayashi on December 27, 1987, and held it until May 27, 1988, losing the title toOwen Hart. His second reign began by defeatingShiro Koshinaka on March 16, 1989, and held it until May 25, 1989, losing it toJushin Liger. In June 1989, Hase andTakayuki Iizuka went to theSoviet Union to be trained in sambo, where he learned one of his signature moves, the uranage. He would also become one of the only wrestlers, Japanese or American, to successfully graduate from the junior heavyweight to heavyweight class.
In the 1990s, Hase had many memorable encounters with famous Japanese talents first in New Japan, and later All Japan. In June 1990, Hase had a near-death experience in the ring, after being knocked out by a backdrop fromTatsutoshi Goto. Hase would form a successful tag team withKensuke Sasaki in March 1990, winning theIWGP Tag Team Championship twice. On November 1, 1990, Hase and Sasaki defeatedMasahiro Chono andKeiji Muto to win the title and held on to the titles until December 26, 1990, losing them toSuper Strong Machine andHiro Saito. Their second reign came by regaining them from Machine and Saito on March 6, 1991, but lost the titles on March 21, 1991, to theSteiner Brothers. Hase was involved in a classic December 14, 1992, encounter withThe Great Muta, in which the"Muta Scale" was created, due to the incredible amount of blood shed by Muta, which was payback for Muta bloodying Hase on September 14, 1990.
Hase and Muto were also regular tag team partners; they won the IWGP Tag Team Championship twice. Their first reign began on November 5, 1991, defeatingRick Steiner andScott Norton in a decision match. They would hold on to the belts until March 1, 1992, losing them toBig Van Vader andBam Bam Bigelow. Hase and Muto won the Super Grade Tag League in November 1993, defeatingThe Jurassic Powers in the final. On March 16, 1994, Hase defeatedRick Rude to win theWCW International World Heavyweight Championship, and he re-lost the title to Rude on March 24, 1994. Hase and Muto won their second Super Grade Tag League in October 1994. On November 25, 1994, Hase and Muto defeatedThe Hellraisers to win their second IWGP Tag Team title. They would hold on to the titles until May 1995, as they vacated the titles after Muto won theIWGP Heavyweight Championship.
While still IWGP Tag Team Champion, Hase travelled toNorth Korea to participate inCollision in Korea in April 1995. At the two-night event, he defeatedChris Benoit on the first night then teamed up with his old tag team partner Sasaki against the Steiner Brothers on the second night.[7]
The following year he announced his retirement from New Japan, only to jump to the rivalAll Japan Pro Wrestling. His last singles bout as a NJPW wrestler was against Kensuke Sasaki on January 4, 1996. He wrestled one more match for NJPW on July 26, 1996, teaming with Sasaki, losing to Riki Choshu andYuji Nagata.[7]
After a brief hiatus, he made his return to pro wrestling inAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in January 1997. In All Japan, Hase did not contend for any top titles despite his name recognition, as he made politics his full-time job.
In 2000, he founded the multi-promotionalBad Ass Translate Trading stable withKeiji Muto,Taiyō Kea andJinsei Shinzaki; Hase and Muto reformed their team to battleJun Akiyama andYuji Nagata on October 8, the rising stars of their respective promotions (NOAH and NJPW), and were defeated in a ceremonial passing of the torch match that highlighted the advancement of professional wrestling in Japan.
When Muto (along withSatoshi Kojima andKendo Ka Shin) jumped to All Japan the following year, Hase was seen as having influenced them (if not Muto at least) in their decision.Antonio Inoki, who had once preceded Hase to the Japanese Diet, blasted Hase and suggested that he resign his position in the Diet, but nothing came out of this.
Hase's final match for 11 years occurred on August 27, 2006. He tagged withKatsuhiko Nakajima andSatoshi Kojima to faceTaru,Suwama and"brother" Yasshi of theVoodoo Murderers. The match was originally supposed to haveKensuke Sasaki in it to team with Hase and Kojima, but he was replaced with Nakajima following an eye injury. Sasaki was still a presence in the match, working ringside to keep Voodoo Murders' heelish antics at bay and entering the ring at one point. Hase pinned Yasshi with aNorthern Light Suplex for the victory, ending his in-ring career after 20 years. A week later, he was elected into theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
On July 10, 2007, Hase took over the duty of thePacific Wrestling Federation chairman, afterStan Hansen (who held the position since 2000) voluntarily resigned from the position.[8] On March 17, 2013, Hase announced that he was stepping down as chairman for the PWF after nearly six years. His last day as PWF chairman was June 21, 2013.[9]
On July 26, 2017, Hase returned to the ring at a Pro Wrestling Masters event, produced byKeiji Muto. Wrestling his first match in 11 years, Hase teamed withRiki Choshu andTatsumi Fujinami to defeat The Great Muta,The Great Kabuki andTNT in a six-man tag team match.[1] On August 5, 2018, Hiroshi Hase was revealed as the special partner of Riki Choshu andJun Akiyama on an All Japan show, victorious againstNaoya Nomura,Yoshitatsu andKazma Sakamoto. On August 21, as he teamed up withTaiyō Kea,Shinjiro Otani, andJinsei Shinzaki for a special one-night BATT reunion on Muto's Pro Wrestling Masters; defeating theHeisei Ishingun team ofAkira,Akitoshi Saito,Shiro Koshinaka andMasashi Aoyagi. Since then, Hase has made two one-off appearances for Pro Wrestling NOAH, most recently on January 1, 2023, teaming up withKazuyuki Fujita,Nosawa Rongai andKendo Kashin in a winning effort againstMasakatsu Funaki,Katsuhiko Nakajima,Manabu Soya andHajime Ohara.
Among his peers, Hase is highly regarded as one of the most unselfish wrestlers in the professional wrestling industry, always willing to put anyone over. Hase also had the honor of learning under bothAntonio Inoki andGiant Baba, making him one of the few that learned under both men.
In July 1995, Hase was elected into the JapaneseHouse of Councillors, the upper house of theNational Diet, as an independent candidate representing theIshikawa Prefecture. This made him the second professional wrestler-turned-politician to be elected in a parliamentary seat, the first beingAntonio Inoki.[6]
In 2000, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ishikawa Prefecture. From 2005 to 2006, he also served as the Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.[10]
As a lawmaker, Hase has primarily focused on issues involving education, welfare, sports, and environment.[5][10] He is a defender of the Hague Convention and supports legislation intended to ensure visitation rights between children and their parents separated through divorce or other marital disputes in Japan.[11]
On October 7, 2015,Prime Minister of JapanShinzō Abe announced Hase as part of his cabinet, naming him the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.[4] He replacedHakubun Shimomura, who stepped down from the post after being accused of mishandling the main stadium project for the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo.[4][10] He also led a multiparty caucus intended to examine discrimination against theLGBTcommunity in Japan, a move that was also intended to prepare the country for the Olympics.[12]
In April 2020, Hase was accused of "patronizing, sexist behavior and harassment" at the Tsubomi Cafe inShibuya,Tokyo. In the report, it was outlined that, along with fellow constituents of theLiberal Democratic Party, Hase had been using aggressive behavior towards female staff members, many of which had been abused prior to employment with the cafe. The association aligned with the cafe, Colabo, stated that Hase "touched [a woman's] waist with both his hands when she was working to set up a tent".[13] On his website, Hase denied an allegation made by the organization of sexual assault, but apologized for his behavior.
[...] I am moving back and forth in a narrow space, such as unloading materials from the bus and setting up tents using that material. Whether or not I put my hand on her waist while saying, “Go for a bit,” is completely unconscious. However, if that is the case, [I am] very sorry and [I] sincerely apologize. [...] It is very difficult for the government to support and support such young girls, which is out of reach of the government, and it also helps prevent sexual violence and sexual crime. Some of the supporting members of NPOs were women who were involved, so it is necessary for them to support the support activities that they can do.
On March 13, 2022, Hase was elected as the Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture in a crowded race.[14][15]
In 1994, Hase married Kyoko Takami, the daughter of writerJun Takami.
1The championship was won in Tokyo, Japan as part of an interpromotional card between New Japan Pro-Wrestling andWorld Championship Wrestling.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture 2022–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
