Knock Yokoyama

横山 ノックGovernor of Osaka PrefectureIn office
23 April 1995 – 22 December 1999Preceded byKazuo NakagawaSucceeded byFusae Ohta Personal detailsBorn
(1932-01-30)January 30, 1932
Asahikawa, JapanDiedMay 3, 2007(2007-05-03) (aged 75)
Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, JapanNationality JapaneseOccupationPolitician, comedianJapanese nameKanji横山 ノックHiraganaよこやま のっく

Transcriptions
Romanization	Yokoyama Nokku

Knock Yokoyama (横山 ノック, Yokoyama Nokku, January 30, 1932 – May 3, 2007) was a Japanese politician and comedian.

Born Isamu Yamada (山田勇 Yamada Isamu) in Asahikawa (Hokkaido), he adopted his current stage name while directing the Manga Trio manzai troupe from 1959 to 1968. Following his comedy years, he went into the construction industry and served as a director at several major construction firms in the Kansai region.

He became governor of Osaka prefecture in 1995, running as an independent and joining the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after his election. He enjoyed great popularity as governor, mostly due to his existing fame as a comedian.

In 2000, a 21-year-old campaign volunteer accused Yokoyama of sexual harassment, claiming that the governor groped her for 30 minutes in the back of a campaign truck. Yokoyama denied the charges, but the Osaka District Court found him liable for ¥11 million in damages, following a highly publicized trial in which the plaintiff testified from behind an opaque screen to avoid revealing her identity. Following the judgment, Yokoyama resigned: he was replaced by a female LDP bureaucrat, Fusae Ohta.

Preceded by Kazuo Nakagawa

Governor of Osaka Prefecture April 1995 – December 1999

Succeeded by Fusae Ohta

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)