Seiji Maehara
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan
since 1993. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ) from 2005 to 2006, and later served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinets of Yukio Hatoyama
and Naoto Kan
, before resigning from the cabinet in March 2011 after he acknowledged receiving illegal donations from a South Korea
n national living in Japan. Maehara is viewed as a "China
hawk
" and a proponent of close ties with the United States.
to parents from Tottori Prefecture
. He attended the law faculty of Kyoto University
, where he majored in international politics. He attended the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management from 1987 to 1991.
Maehara married his wife Airi (愛里) in June 1995; they have no children. He likes to take photographs of trains as a hobby.
in 1991 with the support of, among others, future Diet member Keiro Kitagami
. At the time, he was the youngest prefectural assemblyman in Kyoto history.
He was elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Japan New Party
of Morihiro Hosokawa
in 1993. In 1994, he left the party and formed the "Democratic Wave" with several other young parliamentarians, but later that year joined the Sakigake Party
, which was briefly part of the majority government. In 1998, he joined the Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ) when it was formed that same year.
As a member of the DPJ he focused on security affairs and often negotiated with the government. In the shadow governments he has served as the Shadow Minister for Security Affairs and Shadow Minister for the Defense Agency.
, the elected representatives of the party met to choose a new leader. The two candidates were Naoto Kan
and Maehara. Maehara defeated the 58-year-old Kan by a razor-thin count of 96–94 in open balloting by party members from both Houses of the Diet, with two members abstaining and two others having cast invalid votes. Maehara was appointed DPJ president on 17 September 2005.
However, Maehara's term as party leader was short lived. Although he initially led the party's criticism of the Koizumi
administration, particularly in regards to connections between LDP lawmakers and scandal-ridden Livedoor
, the revelation that a fake email was used to try and establish this link greatly damaged his credibility. The scandal led to the resignation of Representative Hisayasu Nagata
and of Maehara as party leader on 31 March. New elections for party leader were held on 7 April, in which Ichirō Ozawa
was elected President.
, the Democratic Party won a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives, allowing the party to form a new government.
reshuffled the cabinet effective September 17, 2010, making Maehara the youngest Minister of Foreign Affairs in postwar Japanese history. The main international relations event during his tenure as foreign minister was the 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident
, which led to increased tensions between Japan and the People's Republic of China
concerning their overlapping claims to the Senkaku Islands
.
; The Economist
described the incident as a scandal based on a technicality that primarily illustrates the unsatisfactory treatment of Koreans in Japan.
, but broke off this support due to disagreement over whether to raise the consumption tax
, and declared his own candidacy for the presidency of the DPJ on August 22. He lost to Noda and Economy Minister Banri Kaieda
in the first round of balloting on August 29.
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Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan
House of Representatives of Japan
The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
since 1993. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan
Democratic Party of Japan
The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...
(DPJ) from 2005 to 2006, and later served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinets of Yukio Hatoyama
Yukio Hatoyama
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan between 16 September 2009 and 2 June 2010, and was the first ever Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan....
and Naoto Kan
Naoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
, before resigning from the cabinet in March 2011 after he acknowledged receiving illegal donations from a South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n national living in Japan. Maehara is viewed as a "China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
hawk
War Hawk
War Hawk is a term originally used to describe members of the Twelfth Congress of the United States who advocated waging war against the British in the War of 1812...
" and a proponent of close ties with the United States.
Personal background
Maehara was born in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
to parents from Tottori Prefecture
Tottori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region. The capital is the city of Tottori. It is the least populous prefecture in Japan.- History :Before the Meiji Restoration, Tottori encompassed the old provinces of Hōki and Inaba...
. He attended the law faculty of Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
, where he majored in international politics. He attended the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management from 1987 to 1991.
Maehara married his wife Airi (愛里) in June 1995; they have no children. He likes to take photographs of trains as a hobby.
Early political career
Maehara won election to the Kyoto Prefectural AssemblyKyoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....
in 1991 with the support of, among others, future Diet member Keiro Kitagami
Keiro Kitagami
is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Tokyo and graduate of Kyoto University, he joined the Ministry of Finance. After leaving the ministry, he was elected for the first time in 2005.- External links :* in...
. At the time, he was the youngest prefectural assemblyman in Kyoto history.
He was elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Japan New Party
Japan New Party
The Japan New Party was a Japanese political party that existed briefly from 1992 to 1994. It should not be confused with the New Party Nippon founded in 2005....
of Morihiro Hosokawa
Morihiro Hosokawa
is a Japanese politician who was the 79th Prime Minister of Japan from August 9, 1993 to April 28, 1994. His coalition was the first non-Liberal Democratic Party government since 1955.- Early life :...
in 1993. In 1994, he left the party and formed the "Democratic Wave" with several other young parliamentarians, but later that year joined the Sakigake Party
Sakigake Party
The Sakigake Party was a Japanese political party which existed from 1998 through 2002. It was a conservative reformist party with ecologist elements. It was right-wing, and today is defunct.- History :...
, which was briefly part of the majority government. In 1998, he joined the Democratic Party of Japan
Democratic Party of Japan
The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...
(DPJ) when it was formed that same year.
As a member of the DPJ he focused on security affairs and often negotiated with the government. In the shadow governments he has served as the Shadow Minister for Security Affairs and Shadow Minister for the Defense Agency.
Term as DPJ President
After the crushing defeat of the DPJ in the 2005 snap election and the resignation of DPJ leader Katsuya OkadaKatsuya Okada
is a Japanese politician. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he is Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan and was previously its President. From September 2009 to September 2010, he was Foreign Minister of Japan....
, the elected representatives of the party met to choose a new leader. The two candidates were Naoto Kan
Naoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
and Maehara. Maehara defeated the 58-year-old Kan by a razor-thin count of 96–94 in open balloting by party members from both Houses of the Diet, with two members abstaining and two others having cast invalid votes. Maehara was appointed DPJ president on 17 September 2005.
However, Maehara's term as party leader was short lived. Although he initially led the party's criticism of the Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
administration, particularly in regards to connections between LDP lawmakers and scandal-ridden Livedoor
Livedoor
is an Internet service provider based in Tokyo, Japan, that runs a web portal and numerous other businesses. The company was founded and led in its first 10 years by Takafumi Horie, known as "Horiemon" in Japan...
, the revelation that a fake email was used to try and establish this link greatly damaged his credibility. The scandal led to the resignation of Representative Hisayasu Nagata
Hisayasu Nagata
was a Japanese politician born in Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture.- Biography :Nagata secured a B.S. from University of Tokyo in 1993, and then entered the Ministry of Finance. In 1995, he obtained an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles...
and of Maehara as party leader on 31 March. New elections for party leader were held on 7 April, in which Ichirō Ozawa
Ichiro Ozawa
is a Japanese politician. Formerly a chief secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party , he later defected from the LDP. He was the president of Japan's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan , from 2006 until May 2009, when he resigned over a fund scandal, and secretary general of the...
was elected President.
Cabinet
In the Japanese general election, 2009Japanese general election, 2009
A general election in Japan was held on August 30, 2009, for all 480 seats of the House of Representatives of Japan, the lower house of the Diet of Japan....
, the Democratic Party won a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives, allowing the party to form a new government.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Maehara was appointed Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on September 16, 2009. In this role, he was the spokesman for a number of government initiatives, including:- Cessation of construction work on Yamba Dam
- Opening Haneda Airport in Tokyo to long-haul international flights
- Bankruptcy restructuring of Japan AirlinesJapan Airlinesis an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
- Experimentation with reducing or eliminating tolls on the Japanese expresswayExpresswayExpressway may refer to:*Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane dividers, etc., for high-speed traffic*Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road...
network
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Prime Minister Naoto KanNaoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
reshuffled the cabinet effective September 17, 2010, making Maehara the youngest Minister of Foreign Affairs in postwar Japanese history. The main international relations event during his tenure as foreign minister was the 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident
2010 Senkaku boat collision incident
The 2010 Senkaku Boat Collision Incident occurred on the morning of September 7 2010 when a Chinese trawler, Minjinyu 5179, operating in disputed waters collided with Japanese Coast Guard's patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands...
, which led to increased tensions between Japan and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
concerning their overlapping claims to the Senkaku Islands
Senkaku Islands
The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...
.
Resignation from the Cabinet
In March 2011, Maehara resigned as Minister for Foreign Affairs after it emerged that he had accepted a political donation of ¥250,000 (approx. US$3,000) from a 72-year-old South Korean permanent resident of Japan who operated a restaurant in Kyoto. Maehara had known the woman since junior high school, but her foreign nationality made the donation illegal if it had been accepted intentionally. Maehara apologised to the nation for only holding the post for 6 months and for "provoking distrust" over his political funding. According to the Japan Times the resignation will cause Japanese relations with the United States to weaken. The donation was revealed by an opposing party politician, Shoji NishidaShoji Nishida
is a conservative Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet . A graduate of Shiga University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007 after serving in the assembly of Kyoto Prefecture since 2003.In early 2011,...
; The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
described the incident as a scandal based on a technicality that primarily illustrates the unsatisfactory treatment of Koreans in Japan.
Candidacy for Prime Minister
Following Kan's announced resignation in August 2011, Maehara initially planned to support Finance Minister Yoshihiko NodaYoshihiko Noda
is the current Prime Minister of Japan, a member of the Democratic Party of Japan , and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet...
, but broke off this support due to disagreement over whether to raise the consumption tax
Consumption tax
A consumption tax is a tax on spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value added tax...
, and declared his own candidacy for the presidency of the DPJ on August 22. He lost to Noda and Economy Minister Banri Kaieda
Banri Kaieda
is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan. He was named after , a Japanese translational name for the Great Wall of China, and later began learning the Chinese language after entering Keio University....
in the first round of balloting on August 29.
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