Katsuya Okada

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Katsuya Okada (岡田克也 Okada Katsuya, born July 14, 1953) is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, and the former president of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Okada graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in law, and entered the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He later joined the Takeshita faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, and followed faction leaders Tsutomu Hata and Ichiro Ozawa to join the Japan Renewal Party in 1993. Through a series of splits and mergers, Okada then became a member of the Shinshinto, Sun Party, and Minseito, finally entering the DPJ upon its merger with Minseito in 1998.

He became president of the DPJ on May 18, 2004 and led the DPJ to one of its largest electoral victories in history during the 2004 House of Councillors election. However he resigned after his party suffered dramatic losses in the September 2005 general election.

Okada represents Mie Prefecture in the House of Representatives.

He is second son of Takuya Okada who is a founder of Japanese retail giant Aeon Group.