is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and former member of 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 ...

Early life and education

Tarutoko was born in

Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...

on 6 August 1959. He studied at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.

Career

Shinji Tarutoko Minshu IMG 5451 20130707

Tarutoko was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1993 election as a member of the defunct Japan New Party. Then he joined the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...

in 1998. In June 2010, he declared his intention to run against

Naoto Kan is a Japanese former politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011. Kan was the first Prime Minister since the resignation of Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 to ...

for the

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

of the Democratic Party of Japan; had he won, he would have become the next

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

. However, he was defeated on a 291–129 vote. He was appointed

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on 1 October 2012. He lost his seat in the 16 December 2012

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to Tomokatsu Kitagawa, who he had defeated in the 2009 election. Tarutoko challenged Kitagawa again in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, but failed. He became the top candidate on Kibō no Tō's Kinki proportional representation list in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and was elected back to the House. Tarutoko resigned his seat on 28 January 2019 to contest the Osaka 12th district by-election, which was called after Kitagawa's death.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - 1959 births Democratic Party of Japan politicians Living people Osaka University alumni Politicians from Shimane Prefecture Ministers of internal affairs of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2017–2021 {{Japan-politician-1950s-stub