Mayor of Tonami City
Osamu Natsuno has served as Mayor of Tonami City since November 2012 and is currently in his fourth consecutive term. He has been re-elected three consecutive times without opposition, reflecting strong community support.
Tonami City is Japan’s leading producer of tulip bulbs. The Tonami Tulip Fair, held annually in the city, is Japan’s largest flower festival, attracting approximately 300,000 visitors and featuring 300 varieties of tulips with 3.5 million blooms.
Under Mayor Natsuno’s leadership, the fair has undergone significant transformation. The city invested in comprehensive redevelopment of Tonami Tulip Park, including construction of a new Tulip Tower as the park’s symbol, new gates, and event stages.
The city has also created new visitor experiences through photo spots and enhanced cafe facilities. Mayor Natsuno prioritizes flower quality and visitor satisfaction, ensuring near-full bloom conditions from opening day and replacing flowers during the latter half of the fair to maintain peak beauty throughout the event.
Mayor Natsuno actively conducts top-level sales campaigns in East Asia and engages in direct outreach to overseas travel agencies. These efforts have yielded remarkable results, with international visitors growing steadily and reaching 11,500 during the 14-day 2026 fair, which was visited by 293.000 visitors in total.
Tonami’s tulip industry faces significant challenges. Climate change has complicated bloom timing management, and tulip bulb production is declining due to aging farmers.
Under Mayor Natsuno’s leadership, Tonami City is actively implementing sustainable measures, including cultivating new producers and promoting net-culture machinery adoption to ensure the long-term viability of tulip cultivation.