Yōichi Masuzoe

Yōichi Masuzoe

Yōichi Masuzoe (舛添 要一, Masuzoe Yōichi^?, born 29 November 1948) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Councillors who was Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare from 2007 to 2009. He is also a well-known face on Japanese TV shows.

Career

Masuzoe was born in Yahata (current Yahata Higashi-ku, Kitakyūshū), Fukuoka Prefecture on 29 November 1948. After graduating from Yahata High School, he entered Tokyo University. Masuzoe majored in the research of French political procedures. Masuzoe also holds a degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, where he studied from 1976 to 1978. On graduating, Masuzoe became an academic assistant at Tokyo University. Later, Masuzoe became well-known as a political analyst and TV commentator.^[1]

He ran for Governor of Tokyo in 1999^[2].

Entering politics, he won his first Diet seat in the Upper House in 2001 with the largest number of ballots in the national proportional representation section of the House of Councilors. He is currently serving his second term in the Upper House. During his tenure, Masuzoe led the handling of a pension scandal and hepatitis C lawsuits against the state. He advocated a tough approach to bureaucrats caught embezzling.^[1]

In August 2007, Masuzoe was appointed as Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. He also serves as a member of the LDP's panel to draw up a new Constitution.^[1] In the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008, Masuzoe was retained as Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.^[3]

In April 2010, Masuzoe left the LDP and formed a splinter group called Shintō Kaikaku (New Party for Reform). The party's platform included a call for decentralization, deregulation, and a halving of the number of Diet members.^[4][5]

Personal life

Masuzoe has married three times. His second wife was Satsuki Katayama, also a Japanese politician.

TV appearances

Masuzoe has appeared on a number of TV discussion programmes, including Asa made nama Terebi (late-night live TV programme with lively discussion of political issues) and TV Tackle, a humorous political discussion show hosted by Beat Takeshi.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", August 3, 2008.
2. ^ Gubernatorial campaigns kick off
3. ^ "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 September 2008.
4. ^ http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2010/04/japans_most_popular_politician_quits_japans_liberal_democratic_party
5. ^ http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/international/asie-oceanie/201004/23/01-4273427-japon-m-popularite-cree-son-parti-politique.php&ei=kkIvTO_8BMmjnQeNwLmIBA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dun%2Bparti%2Bpolitique%2Bjaponais%2B*Parti%2Bdemocratique%2Bdu%2Bpopulaire%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DBbO%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official

External links

• Yōichi Masuzoe Official Website

House of Councillors of Japan
Preceded by None	Representative by proportional representation 2001 – present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Hakuo Yanagisawa	Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan 2007–2009	Succeeded by Akira Nagatsuma

Persondata
Name	Masuzoe, Yoichi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1948
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death