Mitsuo Matayoshi (又吉 光雄 Matayoshi Mitsuo, also, Iesu Matayoshi) is a Japanese political activist, known for his perennial candidacy. He styles himself The only God Mitsuo Matayoshi Jesus Christ (唯一神又吉光雄・イエス・キリスト) or Jesus Matayoshi (又吉イエス). He is the leader of the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党).
He was born in Ginowan, Okinawa on February 5, 1944. After graduating from Chuo University in Tokyo in 1968, he moved back to Okinawa and ran a juku, a private school. Matayoshi was trained as a Protestant preacher, and through his religious studies developed a particular concept of Christianity strongly influenced by eschatology. In 1997 he established the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党), a political party based on his conviction that he is God. His concept is both religious and political, a mix of Christian eschatology like Augustine's De civitate Dei ("City of God") and conservative collectivism.
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According to his program he will do the Last Judgment as Christ but within the current political system. His first step is to be appointed the Prime Minister of Japan. Then he will reform Japanese society and be offered the post of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Then Matayoshi will reign over the whole world with two legitimate authorities, not only religious but also political. The world economic system will be altered to encourage every nation to be self-sufficient, based on agriculture. He accuses permanent residency and naturalization of foreigners because abandonment of their motherland is wrong. He wants ethnically non-Japanese people to go back to their ancestral homeland even if they are born in Japan. He wants the USA to withdraw its army from all overseas positions, including Okinawa. After his Judgment he will throw the corrupt into the Fire (see Revelation).
He has presented himself in many elections but he has not won yet. He has become well-known for his eccentric campaigns where he urges opponents to commit suicide by hara-kiri (disembowelment, note that he avoids the more polite seppuku) and says that he will cast them into Gehenna. Like most Japanese politicians, he campaigns in a single small regulation size mini-van fitted with oversized loudspeakers. Unlike most however, he blasts his campaign slogans in a stylized, kabuki-inspired voice.