Satoshi Arai

Satoshi Arai (荒井 聰, Arai Satoshi, born 27 May 1946) is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).[1]

Satoshi Arai
荒井 聰
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 August 2009
Preceded byGaku Ishizaki
ConstituencyHokkaido-3rd (2009–2012, 2017–present)
Hokkaido PR (2012–2017)
In office
18 July 1993

25 June 2000 – 27 September 1996

16 March 2007
Preceded byGaku Ishizaki
ConstituencyHokkaido PR (2005–2007)
Hokkaido-3rd (2000–2005)
Minister of State
In office
June 8, 2010 (2010-06-08) – September 17, 2010 (2010-09-17)
ConstituencyHokkaido-1st
Personal details
Born (1946-05-27) 27 May 1946
Tōbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Political partyCDP
Other political
affiliations		DP (2016–2017, split)
DPJ (1996–2016, merger)
NPS (1994–1996)
JNP (1993–1994)
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
WebsiteOfficial website

Biography

A native of Tōbetsu, Hokkaido and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993. Arai had worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the office of former Governor of Hokkaido Takahiro Yokomichi, before retiring in 1993 to run in that year's general election.[2] Arai managed to win a seat in his native Hokkaido and entered the House of Representatives, marking the start of his political career. A liberal politician, Arai has always been affiliated with centre-left parties, even in the turbulent Japanese political landscape where parties boom and bust and alliances change often.

Arai lost in his first contest for his current Hokkaido-6th seat in 1996, but won the district in 2000. Since then, Arai would win another three times (2003, 2009 and 2017) and lost three times (2005, 2012 and 2014) in this seat. As his vote share was still considerably high in the races he lost, he always managed to return to the diet via the PR list.

Arai had run in a seat outside the Diet once. He quit his seat mid-term in 2007 to run for the 2007 Hokkaido gubernatorial election against incumbent Harumi Takahashi, but lost. Two years outside Parliament, he ran again in his old seat in 2009, defeating incumbent Gaku Ishizaki by a large margin in an election that brought his party into government. Subsequent Prime Ministers Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan would bring Arai into their administrations. He served as a Special Adviser in the Hatoyama government and Minister of State in the Kan government. After leaving the Cabinet, Arai served in several Diet committees.

Arai is also a staunch opponent of the closures of JR Hokkaido's local routes.[2] In 2016, he led a pressure campaign against the closure, forcing Governor Takahashi to launch a review into the policy.[3] [4]

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References
  1. 総務省 衆議院議員選挙にかかる繰上補充 Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. "Profile". Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. "「民進党北海道ＪＲ北海道路線維持対策本部」を設置". Hokkaido Democratic Party. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  4. "知事定例記者会見記録(平成２８年１０月２８日)". Hokkaido Prefectural Government. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.


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