| Kazuhiko Ōigawa | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Order: | Governor of Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Term Start: | 26 September 2017 |
| Predecessor: | Masaru Hashimoto |
| Birth Date: | 1964 4, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Tsuchiura, Japan |
| Party: | Independent |
| Alma Mater: | University of Tokyo |
is a politician and the current governor of Ibaraki Prefecture. A native of Tsuchiura[1] and graduate of the Law School of the University of Tokyo, he entered the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) in 1988.[2] After studying at University of Washington Law School in 1996, in 1998 he became the first head of the Singapore office for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.[3]
He left the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2003, and from that same year he was a Microsoft Asia Executive Officer.[4] After serving as Managing Executive Officer of Microsoft, he became Senior Managing Executive Officer of Cisco Systems from 2010 and in 2016, he was appointed as a director of Dwango, the company that manages Niconico Douga.[5]
He was elected governor of Ibaraki prefecture in 2017 after defeating six-term incumbent Masaru Hashimoto in a three cornered race.[6]
In July 2019, Ibaraki became the first prefecture to issue partnership certificates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples. Announcing the reform, Gov. Ōigawa stated that ″This is a matter of human rights, and we must work swiftly in order to eliminate discrimination and prejudices″.[7]