Hidehisa Otsuji
Hidehisa Otsuji (尾辻 秀久, Otsuji Hidehisa, born October 2, 1940) was a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in the Cabinet of Junichirō Koizumi.
Hidehisa Otsuji | |
|---|---|
尾辻 秀久 | |
 | |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan | |
| In office 27 September 2004 – 31 October 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Junichiro Koizumi |
| Preceded by | Chikara Sakaguchi |
| Succeeded by | Jirō Kawasaki |
| Senior Vice Minister of Finance | |
| In office 21 September 2001 – 30 September 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Junichiro Koizumi |
| Preceded by | Masatoshi Wakabayashi |
| Succeeded by | Takayoshi Taniguchi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 October 1940 Kaseda, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
| Secretary | Shinzō Abe |
| Internal Affairs | Heizō Takenaka |
| Justice | Seiken Sugiura |
| Foreign Affairs | Taro Aso |
| Finance | Sadakazu Tanigaki |
| Education | Kenji Kosaka |
| Health | Jirō Kawasaki |
| Agriculture | Shoichi Nakagawa |
| Economy | Toshihiro Nikai |
| Land | Kazuo Kitagawa |
| Environment | Yuriko Koike |
| Defense | Fukushiro Nukaga |
| Ministers of State | Tetsuo Kutsukake, Kaoru Yosano, Koki Chuma, Iwao Matsuda, Kuniko Inoguchi |
Upbringing
He was born in Kaseda City in Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. His father was killed in World War II in fighting near the Solomon Islands.
Otsuji briefly attended the National Defense Academy but dropped out in 1961 after his mother died. He later attended the prestigious University of Tokyo, but again dropped out.
World travels
From his own account, Otsuji was unhappy with university education. Reflecting on his youth as en elderly politician, he noted the social unrest at the time and protests against the government of Prime Minister Kishi, and said that lectures were rarely held and there was no worthwhile education to be had. Instead, he took the time to travel the world and visited close to 80 countries over a period of five years. In 1971 he returned to Japan and officially withdrew from Tokyo University and returned to Kagoshima.
Political career
He was elected to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly in 1979. He was defeated in his run for the House of Representatives in 1986 but was elected to the House of Councillors in 1989.
He served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Management and Coordination in 1992 and became Vice Minister for Okinawa Development in 1994. He was selected to served as Vice Minister of Financial Affairs in 2003 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi and became the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2004.
Otsuji is affiliated to the openly revisionist organization Nippon Kaigi.[1]
Otsuji is also the author of several books, including "Africa Travel Diary" and "Going to Bokemon World." "Bokemon" is a word from the Kagoshima dialect of Japanese meaning "recklessly strong".
| House of Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by 50-member district |
Member of the House of Councillors by proportional representation 1989–2013 |
Succeeded by 48-member district |
| Preceded by Yoshito Kajiya |
Member of the House of Councillors from Kagoshima 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Akiko Santo |
Vice-President of the House of Councillors of Japan 2010–2012 |
Succeeded by Masaaki Yamazaki |
| Preceded by Masakazu Yamamoto |
Chair, Budget Committee of House of Councillors of Japan 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by Yasu Kano |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Chikara Sakaguchi |
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Jirō Kawasaki |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Mikio Aoki |
Chair, Liberal Democratic Party House of Councillors' Committee 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Hirofumi Nakasone |
References
- Nippon Kaigi website