Ken Saitō
Japanese politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ken Saitō (齋藤 健, Saitō Ken, born 14 June 1959) is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party who has been the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry since December 2023. Also serving in the Japanese House of Representatives, Saito served as the Minister of Justice from November 2022 to September 2023 and was the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from August 2017 to October 2018.
Ken Saitō | |
|---|---|
齋藤 健 | |
 | |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry | |
| Assumed office 14 December 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida |
| Preceded by | Yasutoshi Nishimura |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 11 November 2022 – 13 September 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida |
| Preceded by | Yasuhiro Hanashi |
| Succeeded by | Ryuji Koizumi |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | |
| In office 3 August 2017 – 2 October 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe |
| Preceded by | Yūji Yamamoto |
| Succeeded by | Takamori Yoshikawa |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 31 August 2009 | |
| Constituency | Southern Kanto PR (2009-2012) Chiba 7th (2012-present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 齋藤 健 (Saitō Ken) 14 June 1959 Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo Harvard University (MPA) |
Born in Shinjuku, Tokyo, his family ran a photography business. He attended Komaba High School, University of Tsukuba, and graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo. In April 1983, he joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) and was assigned to the Petroleum Distribution Division of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.[1] He studied at Harvard University's Kennedy School and obtained a master's degree in 1991. In 1994, he played a central role in Japan-U.S. automobile negotiations. After serving as the Personnel Planning Officer in the Minister’s Secretariat, he became the secretary to Minister of International Trade and Industry Takashi Fukaya in 1999. He later served as the Planning Officer at the Cabinet Office’s Administrative Reform Promotion Office. In 2004, he was appointed as the Vice-Governor of Saitama Prefecture upon the invitation of Governor Kiyoshi Ueda.[1]
In 2006, he applied for the Liberal Democratic Party’s open recruitment for a by-election in Chiba’s 7th district for the House of Representatives. He was selected from among 221 candidates and ran with the party’s official endorsement but was defeated by a narrow margin of 955 votes by Kazumi Ota of the Democratic Party of Japan.[1] During the by-election, the campaign slogan "Saisho wa guu! Saito Ken!" delivered by Tsutomu Takebe and others gained significant attention. Saito has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2009.[2] Saito was a member of the Ishiba faction, led by Shigeru Ishiba, which was critical of the Abe administration.[3]
In his position as agriculture minister, he continued to keep a tariff hike on foreign beef.[4]
On 6 June 2023, the CDP submitted a censure motion against Saito, who was justice minister, in a bid to delay an immigration bill that sought to overhaul the asylum process.[5]
As industry minister, Saito oversaw the expansion of Japan's semiconductor industry, through government subsidies to companies.[6] On 10 April 2024, Saito was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.[7]
