was a Japanese politician, who served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party. He was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

under Prime Minister

Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician. He is the current leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000. From 2011 to 2012, he was the Prime Minister of Japan. Noda entered po ...

from 1 to 23 October 2012 before resigning due to scandals over financial donations and links to

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

Early life and political career

Tanaka was a native of

Sōma District, Fukushima is a Districts of Japan, district located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 41,540 and a population density, density of 87.18 persons per km2. The total area is 476.49 km2. Towns and vil ...

. He graduated from

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Uni ...

. He was elected for the first time in 1983.

As a cabinet minister

On 1 October 2012, Prime Minister

in his third cabinet lineup, appointed Tanaka as

to succeed Makoto Taki. He also became

Minister for the Abduction Issue The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan responsible for addressing the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. The minister reports to the . As of December 2023, the minister in charge of the abduction issue is Yoshimasa Hayashi. ...

succeeding Jin Matsubara.

Taiwanese donations

On 4 October 2012, Tanaka said that a local branch of the DPJ he heads in Kanagawa prefecture had received 420,000 yen in donations from 2006 to 2009 from a company run by Taiwanese. The money was returned on 3 October 2012, two days after he became Minister of Justice. Under the Political Funds Control Act of 1948, politicians are banned from receiving donations from foreign individuals and organizations composed mostly of foreign citizens. The possible punishments are prison terms of up to three years, or fines of up to 500,000 yen. At a 4 October 2012 press conference he said that he was not considering resigning.

Yakuza connections

On 11 October 2012, the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho reported that 30 years ago Tanaka had connections to a group affiliated to the

Inagawa-kai The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 1,600 members. It is based in the Kantō region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas. History The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, ...

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

syndicate, that he had made an appearance and made a speech at a party hosted by a yakuza boss, and that he had also acted as a matchmaker for an executive member of the group. He said that he would not have taken the actions if he had been aware of the yakuza connections. He denied using yakuza to pursue his own interests or to mediate their disputes.

Resignation

The opposition had demanded that he explain his actions to an upper house panel on 18 October 2012. Tanaka's schedule became full and he could not appear. The following day, on 19 October 2012 he entered hospital complaining of ill health. He was checked into

Tokyo Hospital complaining of chest pains. It was widely expected that he would either tender his resignation or that he would be sacked as a minister. He resigned on 23 October 2012, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by Makoto Taki, who had also been his predecessor in the role.

Personal life and death

Tanaka died on 4 January 2022, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Official website
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Keishu 1938 births 2022 deaths Tokai University alumni Members of the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly Ministers of justice of Japan Noda cabinet Democratic Party of Japan politicians Politicians from Fukushima Prefecture Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012