Japanese governor skips conference to watch Ronaldo, may resign

Oishi traveled from Nagasaki to Nagai Stadium in Osaka to watch Ronaldo play in a friendly match between Al-Nassr and PSG on July 25. The match also featured many other football stars like Neymar, Marcelo Brozovic, Lee Kang-in and Archaf Hakimi.

South China Morning Post reported on Dec. 8 that Oishi said he paid for the match ticket with his own money, although his travel and accommodation expenses were covered by the prefecture.

While Oishi was in Osaka for the football match, Nagasaki sent deputy governor Yuko Baba to attend the conference of governors in Yamanashi prefecture on July 25-26. The meeting focused on strategies to reverse the declining birth rate, address the shrinking rural population in Japan and discuss the impacts of global warming.

Cristiano Ronaldo during a match for Al-Nassr in Saudi Pro League on Dec. 1, 2023. Photo by Reuters

The Nagasaki prefectural government’s secretarial section told newspaper Asahi Shimbum last week that Oishi attended a run-up event in Yamanashi on July 24 but could not attend the conference because of “official duties.”

Those duties stemmed from a June trip by Oishi and Nagasaki assembly speaker Tatsuya Tokunaga. The trip entailed discussions with the Portuguese government about enhancing cooperation in various sectors, including culture, sports, and tourism.

After the match on July 25, a private company arranged a meeting between Oishi and Ronaldo the following day. The governor reportedly asked the Portuguese superstar to “extend a helping hand to the publicity of Nagasaki Prefecture.”

According to the secretarial section, Ronaldo has yet to respond to Oishi’s request.

In February last year, Oishi, 39, became the youngest governor in Japan when he was elected.