is a Japan

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

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, formerly of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

 and currently of the President of Your Party

Your Party

is a center-right Japanese political party. Led by Yoshimi Watanabe, who split from the Liberal Democratic Party , the party was founded on August 8, 2009 after then-Prime Minister Aso dissolved the lower house. A concept behind the party is to make the government more democratic, and to eliminate...

, a member of the House of Representatives

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,...

 in the Diet

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

 (national legislature). A native of Nasu District, Tochigi

Nasu District, Tochigi

Nasu is a district located in Tochigi, Japan. The district consists of the two discontiguous towns of Nasu and Nakagawa, separated by the separate city of Ōtawara in the middle....

 and graduate of Waseda University

Waseda University

, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...

 and Chuo University

Chuo University

Chuo University is a one of the Japanese leading universities. Thus it is competitive in several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 27th, 25th, 34th during 2008-2010 respectively in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai.-Research...

, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996.

His father was Michio Watanabe

Michio Watanabe

was a Japanese political figure. He was born in Tochigi and graduated from the Tokyo College of Commerce in 1942. He worked as a reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun, a certified tax accountant, and a member of Tochigi prefectural assembly before serving as a member of House of Representatives of Japan...

, a popular political figure "Mittchiee". From October 2007 to August 2008, Yoshimi served as Minister of State for Financial Policy and Administrative Reform in Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....

's cabinet. He appears in "Takeshi-no-TV-tackle", a humorous political discussion show hosted by comedian Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano

is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...

.

External links

• Yoshimi Watanabe official website