FUKUI (TR) – Fukui Prefectural Police announced on July 24 the departure of Mikiko Masuda, the prefecture’s first-ever female police chief, in a major personnel shuffle that will take effect on August 7, reports Fukui TV (July 24).
The 49-year-old top cop will be returning to Tokyo to take up a high-level post as head of the Foreign Affairs Division within the National Police Agency’s (NPA) Security Bureau, overseeing foreign intelligence and counter-espionage efforts.
A Tokyo native and University of Tokyo graduate, Masuda joined the NPA in 2000. She built a formidable resume with stints as an investigator in the NPA Secretariat and as a counselor for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s elite Public Security Bureau. She made history in Fukui when she assumed the chief position in April 2025.
Masuda will be succeeded by 47-year-old Yusuke Hirano, who currently serves as the director of the Traffic Regulation Division at the NPA’s Traffic Bureau.
Hailing from Osaka, Hirano graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law before joining the NPA in 2001. His career has largely focused on traffic administration, including previous roles as a director in the NPA’s Traffic Planning Division and general affairs chief for the Japan Safe Driving Center.
