Fukushiro Nukaga Explained

Fukushiro Nukaga
Native Name Lang:ja
Office:Speaker of the House of Representatives
Term Start:20 October 2023
Predecessor:Hiroyuki Hosoda
Deputy:Banri Kaieda
Office1:Minister of Finance
Primeminister1:Shinzō Abe
Yasuo Fukuda
Term Start1:27 August 2007
Term End1:2 August 2008
Predecessor1:Kōji Omi
Successor1:Bunmei Ibuki
Office2:Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency
Primeminister2:Junichiro Koizumi
Term Start2:31 October 2005
Term End2:26 September 2006
Predecessor2:Yoshinori Ohno
Successor2:Fumio Kyūma
Primeminister3:Keizō Obuchi
Term Start3:30 July 1998
Term End3:20 November 1998
Predecessor3:Fumio Kyūma
Successor3:Hosei Norota
Office4:Ministry of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Primeminister4:Yoshirō Mori
Term Start4:6 January 2001
Term End4:23 January 2001
Predecessor4:Position established
Successor4:Tarō Asō
Office5:Head of the Economic Planning Agency
Primeminister5:Yoshirō Mori
Term Start5:5 December 2000
Term End5:6 January 2001
Predecessor5:Taichi Sakaiya
Successor5:Position abolished
Office6:Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Primeminister6:Keizō Obuchi
Yoshirō Mori
Term Start6:5 October 1999
Term End6:4 July 2000
Predecessor6:Muneo Suzuki
Successor6:Shinzō Abe
Primeminister7:Ryutaro Hashimoto
Term Start7:11 September 1997
Term End7:30 July 1998
Predecessor7:Yosano Kaoru
Successor7:Muneo Suzuki
Birth Date:11 January 1944
Birth Place:Asō, Ibaraki, Japan
Party:Liberal Democratic Party
Alma Mater:Waseda University
Office8:Member of the House of Representatives
Term Start8:18 December 1983
Children:3

is a Japanese politician who is serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since October 2023. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1983 and represents Ibaraki's 2nd district.[1] He was previously the Minister of Finance from 2007 to 2008,[2] and served twice as Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary.

Career

Nukaga was born in Asō, Ibaraki, now part of Namegata, Ibaraki. He graduated from Waseda University's Faculty of Political Science and Economics.[1] After working as a reporter for the Sankei Shimbun, he entered politics and was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1983. He joined the Tanaka faction when elected, but along with most of the faction he later joined the Keiseikai founded by Noboru Takeshita, which was later renamed the Heisei Kenkyūkai.

He was named Minister of State and Director General of the Japan Defense Agency on 30 July 1998, under Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi,[3] serving in that position until November 1998, when he resigned due to a scandal.[4] He was named Minister of State in charge of economic and fiscal policy, as well as IT policy, on 5 December 2000, as part of Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori's second cabinet,[5] but he resigned on 23 January 2001, following criticism regarding 15 million yen he had received from the mutual aid foundation KSD. He said that his secretary had received the money and that it had been returned, but apologized and said that he took "final responsibility as a supervisor". Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that the government believed Nukaga's explanation.[4]

Nukaga served as chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council from September 2003 to September 2004. He returned to the position of Minister of State and Director General of the Japan Defense Agency on 31 October 2005, under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,[6] [7] and remained in that position until September 2006.

He was appointed Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in a cabinet reshuffle on 27 August 2007.[2] Following Abe's resignation on 12 September, Nukaga initially said that he would run for the position of LDP president (and thus Prime Minister) on 13 September, but, on 14 September, after meeting with Yasuo Fukuda, Nukaga announced that he would back Fukuda for the leadership.[8] Following Fukuda's victory in the leadership election, Nukuga remained as Finance Minister in Fukuda's Cabinet, sworn in on 26 September 2007.[9] He was replaced in that post by Bunmei Ibuki on 1 August 2008.

Nukaga was reelected in the August 2009 House of Representatives election, which was otherwise disastrous for the LDP. Nukaga was chosen to replace the retiring Yuji Tsushima as head of the Heisei Kenkyūkai. After the LDP returned to government with the 2012 election he became subcommittee chairman of the LDP Tax System Research Commission. In April 2015 he also became chief of the LDP "Headquarters for accelerating reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake".[10] [11] On 8 February 2018, Nukaga announced his intent to resign from his position as head of Heisei Kenkyūkai. This followed a rebellion in which faction members in House of Councillors led by Hiromi Yoshida threatened to leave the faction unless there was change in leadership. In March he handed over the leadership to Wataru Takeshita, the half-brother of the faction's founder. After that, Nukaga became chief advisor of the faction.[12] [13]

In September 2019 Nukaga left the position of subcommittee chairman and became an advisor of the LDP Tax System Research Commission. He remained an authority in the field of economic policy within the LDP. In December 2021 he was chosen as chief of the new LDP "Headquarters for promoting fiscal consolidation."[14] [15]

In October 2023 Nukaga was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, after Hiroyuki Hosoda resigned for health reasons.

Nukaga is affiliated with the conservative lobby Nippon Kaigi.[16]

References

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Notes and References

  1. http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumidaijin/051031/14nukaga_e.html CV at government website
  2. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aoUfAODra2jY&refer=home "Abe Replaces Finance Minister; Aso to Rebuild LDP"
  3. http://web-japan.org/trends98/honbun/ntj980801.html "OBUCHI NAMES CABINET: Government to Focus on Economic Issues"
  4. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0XPQ/is_2001_Jan_29/ai_70392795 "2ND LD: Nukaga resigns over KSD scandal, Aso takes over"
  5. http://web-japan.org/trends00/honbun/tj001212.html "Mori Launches Second Cabinet: Two Ex-Prime Ministers Named to New Team"
  6. Norimitsu Onishi, "Conservatives lead Japan's cabinet", International Herald Tribune, 31 October 2005.
  7. http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumidaijin/051031/index_e.html List of members of the cabinet of 31 October 2005
  8. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/14/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Nukaga.php "Japan's finance chief not to run for ruling party president"
  9. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070926TDY01002.htm "Fukuda Cabinet launched/Changes minimized to reduce impact on Diet business"
  10. News: 自民税調、小委員長に額賀氏内定 . The Nikkei . 2012-12-28 . Japanese . 2023-11-02.
  11. News: 自民の復興本部長に額賀氏 大島氏の後任 . The Nikkei . 2012-04-24 . Japanese . 2023-11-02.
  12. News: Head of ruling-LDP party faction to resign: sources. 9 February 2018. The Japan Times.
  13. News: 「竹下派」発足へ 額賀氏が派閥会長を退任表明 . The Nikkei . 2018-03-18 . Japanese . 2023-11-02.
  14. News: 自民税調、小委員長に宮沢氏 会長から異例の起用 . The Nikkei . 2019-09-19 . Japanese . 2023-11-02.
  15. News: 自民に首相直轄の財政健全化推進本部、年明けにPB目標議論 . Reuters . 2021-12-07 . Japanese . 2023-11-02.
  16. Nippon Kaigi website