TSUNAN, Niigata -- A 31-year-old mother of two children is set to become the youngest town mayor in Japan after winning the election here on June 24.

Haruka Kuwabara, who received 2,614 votes, ran as a new independent along with two other candidates.

In 2011 when she was a graduate school student at the University of Tokyo, Kuwabara won election to the town assembly after receiving the largest number of votes. She served as vice speaker of the assembly for about two years from 2015.

Tsunan is well known as an unexplored mountain area and is located on the border between Niigata and Nagano prefectures. It has a population of some 9,800 and tourism and agriculture are the town's main industries.

(Japanese original by Mei Nanmo, Niigata Bureau)