Hideo Higashikokubaru (東国原 英夫, Higashikokubaru Hideo; born 16 September 1957) is a Japanese politician. He originally rose to fame as a comedian and actor under the stage name Sonomanma Higashi (そのまんま東; literally "Higashi without change" or "simply Higashi"), and was known for his role in the popular game show Takeshi's Castle. He served as the governor of Miyazaki Prefecture from 2007 to 2011, resigning to run against incumbent Shintarō Ishihara for Governor of Tokyo in the 2011 election, where he came in second. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the general election of 2012, but resigned in December 2013.
Source: “Hideo Higashikokubaru”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt