Yet Toru Hashimoto, the 42-year-old mayor of the huge city of Osaka, does not.

ECONOMIST: Tattoos in Japan

Toru Urayama set up an academy in 2007 to teach amateur traders how to make money on the markets.

CNN: 'Abenomics' changing opinions and skirt lengths in Japan

Don't be put off by the name: Chef Toru Wachi is aiming for low-key eclectic, starting with his cuisine.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Hot Spots

Reports suggest the Tokyo and Osaka governors, Shintaro Ishihara and Toru Hashimoto, are in talks over a potential link-up in the polls.

BBC: Japan PM Yoshihiko Noda set for general election

The system was devised in Japan by Hiroshi Kumon's father, Toru, who was concerned after his son Takeshi scored badly in a math exam.

BBC: Maths classes 'overcrowded'

Toru Hashimoto, the Osaka governor, is also forming a political party.

BBC: Japan PM Yoshihiko Noda set for general election

Toru Hashimoto, governor of Osaka prefecture, Japan's second-biggest industrial hub, is campaigning on a promise to build a similar megalopolis, though against opposition from local mayors.

ECONOMIST: Some see a tea party brewing in Japan��s hinterland

Mr Abe has already made clear his admiration for the mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, who leads a national political insurrection with his rightist Japan Restoration Party.

ECONOMIST: Japanese politics

Two maverick characters, one from business (Mikitani Hiroshi, the subject of this post), one from politics (Hashimoto Toru, the focus of my next post), personify the new legitimacy being accorded to change-drivers.

FORBES: Can Rakuten Maverick CEO Mikitani's New Organization Change Japan?

Nintendo's conference was like a retirement home for classic game developers as Toru Iwatani, the brains behind Pac-Man, played on-stage against Mario wunderkind, Shigeru Miyamoto, who is currently working on an all-new Pac-Man title.

BBC: Gaming nirvana sparkles