Masked Wrestler Billyken Kid Attends City Council in Mask

Billyken Kid, a 52-year-old wrestler with Osaka Pro Wrestling, wore his mask to a Kawanishi City Council session on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It was the first full session since he won a seat in October. The council had agreed three days earlier to let him.

What the council decided

Representatives of the council's five groups met on Friday, Nov. 6. Four voted in favor and one against, per Asahi and Yomiuri. The mask is allowed in the chamber and in committee rooms.

The conditions, per Asahi and Yomiuri:

• He wears the same mask as on his election poster.
• The council chair checks his face before he enters the chamber, to rule out impersonation.
• He keeps the mask off at memorial services and funerals.
• On inspection trips and at meetings with other local governments, he asks the host first and follows its wishes.

The one group against was Kawanishi Mahoroba-kai. Asahi reports its leader said there are still unclear points and he could not back the mask, in our translation. Yomiuri says its objection was that he has attended chamber of commerce meetings without the mask. An earlier vote on Nov. 2 was split, per Asahi.

The first session

MBS reported that he came to city hall in the mask on the morning of Nov. 9 and sat through the session in it. He said, in our translation of the MBS report: "When I put on the mask it fires me up, and it tightens my mind." He also said the real start was now, and that he wants to solve residents' problems one by one.

Kansai TV's report, carried by Yahoo Japan News, said he wants to work on child-rearing and welfare support.

After the Nov. 6 decision he said he was happy beyond words, per Asahi, again in our translation.

Why it matters

Yomiuri says he topped the October vote with 4,040 votes, campaigning in the mask. It says he runs a wrestling festival in Kawanishi and does volunteer visits to welfare facilities. Kansai TV says he is the first masked wrestler to sit on an assembly in Hyogo. An Asahi related headline says earlier cases came up in Iwate and Oita prefectures. We did not read that article.

Sources

• Asahi Shimbun (Hiroshi Miura), "Masked wrestler on Kawanishi city council, Hyogo, allowed to wear mask in chamber: 'heartfelt thanks'", Nov. 6, 2026, 8:19 PM JST (the 4 to 1 vote, the conditions, his comment; Japanese). https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASVC63Q6HVC6PIHB014M.html
• Yomiuri Shimbun, "Top vote-getter wrestler-councillor Billyken Kid allowed to wear mask in chamber, on conditions", Nov. 7, 2026, 7:00 AM JST (the votes, the club affiliation, 4,040 votes; Japanese). https://yomiuri.co.jp/local/kansai/news/20261106-GYO1T00114
• MBS News via TBS NewsDig, "Active masked wrestler councillor attends plenary session in mask", Nov. 9, 2026, 5:42 PM JST (the first session and his comments; Japanese). https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/mbs/3072629?display=1
• Kansai TV via Yahoo Japan News, "Kawanishi city council's masked wrestler councillor attends plenary session in mask", Nov. 9, 2026, 12:04 PM JST (first in Hyogo; Japanese). https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/707122927c9009cd34e9bbf79e3132b595de7790
• News On Japan, "Should City Councilor Remove His Mask?", undated, search excerpt only (the earlier postponed decision). https://newsonjapan.com/article/151241.php
• WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read four Japanese-language reports, translated the passages we use, and set their dates and numbers against each other.

How we credit sources: Editorial standards.