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