Yoichi Miyazawa

Yoichi Miyazawa (宮沢 洋一, Miyazawa Yōichi, born April 21, 1950) is a Japanese politician who serves as Chairman of the Tax Research Commission in the Liberal Democratic Party since 2021 and from 2015 to 2019. He also served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2014 to 2015. He has served as a member of the House of Councillors since 2010 and was previously a House of Representatives from 2000 to 2009.

Yoichi Miyazawa
宮沢 洋一
Official portrait, 2014
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
In office 21 October 2014 – 7 October 2015
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Yūko Obuchi
Succeeded by	Motoo Hayashi
Member of the House of Councillors
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 July 2010
Preceded by	Ikuo Kamei
Constituency	Hiroshima at-large
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 26 June 2000 – 21 July 2009
Preceded by	Kiichi Miyazawa
Succeeded by	Takashi Wada
Constituency	Hiroshima 7th
Personal details
Born	(1950-04-21) 21 April 1950 (age 74) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Parent	Hiroshi Miyazawa (father)
Relatives	Kiichi Miyazawa (uncle) Fumio Kishida (cousin)
Alma mater	University of Tokyo Harvard University

Miyazawa is a nephew of Kiichi Miyazawa and a cousin of Fumio Kishida. He was an official in the Ministry of Finance before entering politics.

Early life

Yoichi Miyazawa was born on April 21, 1950, in Tokyo, to a prominent family from Hiroshima Prefecture. He was the eldest son of Hiroshi Miyazawa and Reiko Miyazawa (née Kishida). His paternal uncle was Kiichi Miyazawa. Through his mother he's an elder cousin of Fumio Kishida. Hiroshi Miyazawa was then an official in the Local Administration Agency. He would later become Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, a member of the House of Councillors and Minister of Justice.^[1]

Yoichi Miyazawa studied law at the University of Tokyo and joined the Ministry of Finance after graduating in 1974. While in the Ministry he was sent to continue his studies at Harvard University in the United States, receiving a Master of Public Administration degree in 1978. Miyazawa held various posts in the Ministry before being appointed secretary to the Prime Minister, his uncle Kiichi Miyazawa, in July 1992. Kiichi Miyazawa resigned as prime minister in August 1993, and Yoichi Miyazawa retired from the Ministry the following month to continue serving as his uncle's secretary.^[1][2]

Political career

For the 2000 general election, Kiichi Miyazawa was transferring from Hiroshima 7th district to the Chūgoku proportional representation block. Yoichi Miyazawa ran as the LDP candidate to replace his uncle in Hiroshima 7th district and was elected to the House of Representatives. Once elected Miyazawa joined the Kōchikai, the faction formerly led by his uncle.^[1]

Miyazawa was appointed senior vice minister for the Cabinet Office under in August 2008 and remained until September 2009, when the LDP lost power after the 2009 general election. Yoichi Miyazawa lost his seat in the same election, but in July of the following year he stood as the LDP candidate for the Hiroshima at-large district in the 2010 House of Councillors election and was elected.^[2]

In October 2014 Miyazawa was appointed Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after Yuko Obuchi resigned from the position due to a funds scandal. After leaving cabinet in the reshuffle in October the following year he became chairman of the LDP Tax Commission. He was demoted to subcommittee chairman when Akira Amari was appointed chairman in September 2019, but returned as chairman when Amari was appointed Secretary General of the LDP in October 2021.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}