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is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left politics, centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling L ...
from its formation in 2017 until 2021. He has served in various significant political roles, including the 3rd Policy Research Council Chairperson of the former Democratic Party of Japan, the 6th Policy Research Council Chairperson of the Democratic Party, the 140th Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, the 16th Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation, the inaugural Secretary-General of the Democratic Party for the People, the inaugural leader of the former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the inaugural leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and the Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Audit and Oversight of Administration. He was elected to parliament in the
1993 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 18 July 1993 to elect the 511 members of the House of Representatives. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had been in power since 1955, lost their majority in the House. An eight-party coalition gov ...
under the
Japan New Party The was a Japanese political party that existed briefly from 1992 to 1994. The party, considered liberal, was founded by Morihiro Hosokawa, a former Diet member and Kumamoto Prefecture governor, who left the Liberal Democratic Party to protest ...
, and served briefly in the governments of
Morihiro Hosokawa is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994. He led an eight-party coalition government which was the first Japanese government not headed by a Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Libera ...
,
Tsutomu Hata was a Japanese politician who briefly served as prime minister of Japan in 1994. Born in Tokyo, Hata graduated from Seijo University and was first elected to the National Diet in 1969. He rose to become a key member of the Liberal Democratic ...
,
Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He was the country's first socialist premier since Tetsu Katayama in 1948, and is best remembered for the Murayama Statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of ...
, and the first
Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Hashimoto graduated from Keio University in 1960 and entered the National Diet in 1963. He rose through the ...
cabinet before leaving the
New Party Sakigake The , also known as the New Harbinger Party, was a political party in Japan that broke away from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on 22 June 1993. The party was created by Masayoshi Takemura. The party was centrist, and had many reformist ...
to join the Democratic Party in 1998. He then held various roles inside the party, and upon the group's landslide victory in the 2009 election, served roles in all three opposition cabinets. He was a major part of the response to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a  9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
. Following the defeat of the Democratic Party in 2012, he held his seat in parliament, and joined the various opposition groups that formed around the time, including the 2016 form of the Democratic Party. With his attempt to join
Kibō no Tō was a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Governor of Tokyo, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The party was founded just before the call of the 2017 Japanese general election, 2017 gen ...
being blocked by
Yuriko Koike Yuriko Koike (小池 百合子, Koike Yuriko; born 15 July 1952) is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she was also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member o ...
's refusal to let liberal members of the former Democratic Party inside the group, he left to form the
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left politics, centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling L ...
for liberal factions of the former party, which he led to a surprising second place finish in the
2017 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 22 October 2017. Voting took place in all Representatives constituencies of Japan – 289 single-member districts and eleven proportional blocks – in order to appoint all 465 members (down from 475) of t ...
. Following the CDP's poor performance in the 2021 general election, Edano announced on 2 November his intention to resign as leader of the party, triggering a
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...
.


Early life

Edano was born in
Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 513,584, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...
on 31 May 1964, into a salary-man family. He is named after Japanese progressive liberal political figure
Yukio Ozaki was a Japanese politician of liberal signature, born in modern-day Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Ozaki served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953). He is still revered in Japan as the "God of constitutional ...
, who Edano's father admired. He attended Utsunomiya City Mine Elementary School and Utsunomiya City Yoto Junior High School, serving as the student council president at both. Edano graduated from
Tohoku University is a public research university in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. It is colloquially referred to as or . Established in 1907 as the third of the Imperial Universities, after the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, it initially focused on sc ...
with a degree in law, and passed the Japanese
bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...
at the age of 24.


Early political career

In 1992,
Morihiro Hosokawa is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994. He led an eight-party coalition government which was the first Japanese government not headed by a Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Libera ...
founded the
Japan New Party The was a Japanese political party that existed briefly from 1992 to 1994. The party, considered liberal, was founded by Morihiro Hosokawa, a former Diet member and Kumamoto Prefecture governor, who left the Liberal Democratic Party to protest ...
. Edano, who had found a job in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
as a lawyer, found himself drawn to Hosokawa's words of idealism and anti-corruption, as Edano had maintained an interest in politics since he was young. After the New Party announced an open call for candidates to the
Japanese House of Representatives The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a fo ...
before the 1993 general election, Edano applied to become a candidate for the party. After the JNP had screened down 150 candidates to about 15 people, Edano had passed, and it was soon after announced he would be the JNPs candidate for the
Saitama 5th district Saitama 5th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Saitama Prefecture and covers Nishi, Kita, Minuma, Ōmiya and Chūō wards of the city of Saitama. Yukio ...
. He initially struggled; lacking funding, political experience, and a rushed schedule due to his initial expectation for the House to be dissolved in the fall instead of June, he resorted to delivering speeches on the side of the road in the morning, a similar strategy to that used by
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 ...
. He placed second but was still elected, falling slightly behind
Kiyoshi Ueda is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors for the Saitama at-large district after winning a by-election in 2019. He has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signaling his opposition to any and all tax i ...
. After the election, the Hosokawa Cabinet, the first since the 1950s not to include the LDP, was formed. Edano became a member of the Commerce and Industry Committee, and helped to craft a Product Liability Act. However, the Hosokawa Cabinet was cut short by a campaign finance scandal which led to the collapse of the cabinet, and Hosokawa resigned. He voted for
Tsutomu Hata was a Japanese politician who briefly served as prime minister of Japan in 1994. Born in Tokyo, Hata graduated from Seijo University and was first elected to the National Diet in 1969. He rose to become a key member of the Liberal Democratic ...
in the next prime minister election, believing the LDP should be blocked from forming a government at all costs. Following this, Edano opposed the formation of a new parliamentary group made up of all parties outside of the Socialists and LDP, and thus left the JNP to form his own parliamentary group briefly, known as "Democratic Wind". He shortly after joined the
New Party Sakigake The , also known as the New Harbinger Party, was a political party in Japan that broke away from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on 22 June 1993. The party was created by Masayoshi Takemura. The party was centrist, and had many reformist ...
, and opposed the motion of no confidence against Prime Minister
Tsutomu Hata was a Japanese politician who briefly served as prime minister of Japan in 1994. Born in Tokyo, Hata graduated from Seijo University and was first elected to the National Diet in 1969. He rose to become a key member of the Liberal Democratic ...
, which divided the Sakigake group. In 1994, the Murayama Cabinet, a coalition between the LDP, the JSP, and Edano's own group, the NPS, was formed. He became vice chairman of the Policy Research Group inside the NPS under Policy Research Chairman
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 ...
. In January 1996, around two years later, the First Hashimoto Cabinet was formed, who was selected to lead after the resignation of
Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He was the country's first socialist premier since Tetsu Katayama in 1948, and is best remembered for the Murayama Statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of ...
. He voted for confidence in the new Hashimoto cabinet, allegedly because Hashimoto himself was a member of a group of legislators who resisted removing blood products from the Product Liability Law, which would remove government accountability from them. In the new cabinet, he served as chairman of an administrative reform team, and presented his own plan for civil service reform, including blanket hiring of civil servants and reforms on the practice of Amakudari. He also became the leader of a bipartisan study group composed of young politicians, which was mainly seen as a networking event for politicians who had their eye on joining the new Democratic Party. He played a role in investigating the HIV tainted blood scandal beginning in 1995, when he was contacted by the plaintiffs defense team and became convinced of the government's responsibility in the issue. In August 1995, a meeting between the Minister of Welfare Shoichi Ide and the victims of the scandal was secretly arranged. The Ministry of Health and Welfare refused to accept responsibility for the crisis, even after a court ordered them to, so the matter was pursued by 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 ...
Committee on Health and Welfare. He submitted a written inquiry requesting an explanation from the Ministry at the time. In the First Hashimoto Cabinet, he also supported
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 ...
's efforts to solve the problem, leading to the investigation of the truth and the continued use of non-heat products even after heat products had been developed to treat HIV. He presided over the ministry's apology in February, and in July he took the stand to question Hideo Abe, the former head of the AIDS research team.


Joining the Opposition and Democratic Party

He participated in the formation of the Democratic Party in 1996, and ran under the party's banner in the
1996 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 20 October 1996. A coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party, New Party Sakigake and the Social Democratic Party (Japan), Social Democratic Party, led by incumbent Prime M ...
. He attempted to defend his seat in Saitama's 5th district in an election centered around volunteers, running against both Zenjiro Kaneko of the New Frontier Party and Nobuhiko Fukunaga of the LDP. He ultimately lost in a close three-way election only decided by five points to Fukunaga, but was re-elected to the House after being placed on the Northern Kanto proportional representation block. He became Policy Research Chairman of the Democratic Party in 1997, and establish the "2010 Association", a group of young politicians who criticized the clan-like nature of Japanese politics and the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
. In 1998, the Democratic Party, Good Governance Party, New Fraternity Party, and splinters from the New Frontier Party all merged into one group, and the party was refounded as 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, ...
to create a big-tent opposition force. Edano was seated as vice-chairman of the party's Policy Research Group. In the Diet, he submitted several bills, including one to allow for separate surnames for married couples, one to create an Administrative Surveillance Board, and a law further criminalizing possession of child pornography. He was also influential in the passage of the . He was named one of the most significant figures in the legislative law boom which began in the 1990s. In the January 1999 Democratic Party leadership election, in which
Shigefumi Matsuzawa is a Japanese politician and a current member of the House of Councillors for the Kanagawa at-large district in the Diet of Japan. Early life Matsuzawa is a native of Kawasaki, Kanagawa and graduated from Keio University with a bachelor's ...
challenged then leader
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 ...
, he was named as a recommender for Matsuzawa, who advocated for the privatization of the three postal services and of special government owned corporations. He then serviced as campaign secretary for Kan when he was challenged again by
Yukio Hatoyama is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2009 to 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Repre ...
inside the party in September, to which he ultimately lost. Under Hatoyama's leadership, he was named as the Acting Chairman of the Policy Research Group, and was named as
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary The is an official in the Japanese government who assists the Chief Cabinet Secretary. Since July 1998 there have always been three Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries at any given time. Role The Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries are customarily ...
under the Next Cabinet system. He won back his constituency in Saitama's 5th in the
2000 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 25 June 2000 to elect the 480 members of the House of Representatives. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remained the largest party in the House of Representatives but lost seats, along with its tw ...
, in what was generally a success for the new Democratic Party. He made two new study group's as well, mainly centered around former members of the New Party Sakigake, of which he was also formerly a member. He also founded the Ryounkai political group in 2002 along with
Seiji Maehara is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024. Maehara was the ...
and
Yoshito Sengoku was a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. Overviews He was born in Tokushima, Tokushima ...
, which mainly functioned as a conservative pressure organization inside the DP. Edano served as treasurer of the group. In December 2002, when Yukio Hatoyama resigned as party leader and Naoto Kan returned to serve as secretary, Edano was appointed as Chief Cabinet Secretary in the new Next Cabinet. He announced the party's manifesto before the
2003 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on November 9, 2003. Incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party won the most seats in the House of Representatives but failed to secure a majority. The main opposition Democ ...
, in which he held his constituency with an expanded margin. In 2004, Kan was replaced as leader of the DP by
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party (Japan, 2016), Democratic Party, and previously of th ...
. In 2005, despite the party's national struggle (The DP lost 65 seats nationally), Edano was re-elected by five points in his home constituency. In 2005, When Okada stepped down due to his failure in the national elections, he supported his own ally,
Seiji Maehara is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024. Maehara was the ...
, to succeed him. Maehara won but stepped down soon after due to scandal surrounding an alleged fake email used by him. Edano also gained the position of acting secretary general for the party's strategy and communication. When, in 2006,
Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district (Iwate 2nd district prior to the 1996 general election and Iwate 4th district prior to the 2017 general election). H ...
was elected as the party's next representative following the resignation of Maehara, Edano announced he would be stepping away from party leadership roles. In September 2008, Edano briefly debated running for party representative to avoid Ozawa being re-elected without a vote due to the failures of others, such as
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 ...
to announce a challenge. He gave up due to the fact he could not gain a recognition to run from another Diet member. Edano was re-elected by a 20-point margin in the landslide
2009 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on August 30, 2009 to elect the 480 members of the House of Representatives. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito Party ...
, in which he and the Democratic Party were swept into power.


Government Service


Hatoyama Cabinet

In 2009, when the
Hatoyama Cabinet The Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet governed Japan from September 2009 to June 2010, following the landslide victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the general election on 30 August 2009. The election marked the first time in Japanese post-war histo ...
was first inaugurated, there were strong expectations he would become a minister in the government, but this never occurred. Some speculated this was due to a feud he and Ichiro Ozawa still had ongoing. In October, Edano was instead appointed by
Yoshito Sengoku was a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. Overviews He was born in Tokushima, Tokushima ...
, who was serving as Minister of Admisitrative Reform, to coordinate the Administrative Reform Council, which helped support the Hatoyama's cabinet approval ratings. In this role, he helped sort out funding and commission fees for disaster prevention features in-place in nuclear power facilities, and gave grants out to disaster response features present in the power plants. In January 2010, it was announced that Sengoku would be nominated to serve concurrently as the Minister for National Strategy, and that Edano would be appointed as the Prime Minister's Advisor to assist Sengoku. However, Edano was never formally appointed, and it was eventually decided that he would be appointed Minister of Administrative Reform instead, relieving Sengoku of the post.


Kan Cabinet

At the end of May in 2010, the Hatoyama Cabinet resigned, and in the election for successor, Edano supported
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 ...
along with
Seiji Maehara is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024. Maehara was the ...
and
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party (Japan, 2016), Democratic Party, and previously of th ...
. In June, Edano was appointed secretary-general of the Democratic Party. He led the Democratic Party through the
2010 Japanese House of Councillors election House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on July 11, 2010. In the previous elections in 2007 the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had lost its majority to the Democratic Party (DPJ), which managed to gain the largest margin since its fo ...
, which saw the DP's minority in the House of Councilors shrink by three seats. Upon the inauguration of the first reshuffled Kan Cabinet in September, he resigned as secretary-general, and was succeeded by
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party (Japan, 2016), Democratic Party, and previously of th ...
. Due to the cabinet reshuffle that occurred in January inside the Kan Cabinet, Edano ended up appointed as Chief Cabinet Secretary (concurrently serving as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs at the same time) in the second cabinet. At 46 years old, he was the second-youngest Chief Cabinet Secretary in history. In early march, due to the resignation of
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Seiji Maehara is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024. Maehara was the ...
, he served in the office on an interim basis until
Takeaki Matsumoto is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2011. A native of Tokyo and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was elected to the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Represen ...
was appointed. On June 27, following Renhō's resignation as Minister of Administrative Reform to become the Advisor to the Prime Minister, he was re-appointed to the role for the first time since the Hatoyama Cabinet resigned. On March 11, 2011, less than two months after taking office as the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and
Fukushima nuclear accident The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, whic ...
occurred. Edano took on the role of the government's main spokesman on the response to both events, beginning to report on recovery every single day. The strain put on himself as a result, and his energetic response style led to him being compared to
Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series '' 24''. Throughout the majority of the series' running, Bauer serves as a key member of the fictional CTU and other institutions. Bauer's job usually involv ...
from 24 in overseas media. It was reported that Edano ordered the centralization of information from the disasters, and, as an example, ordered the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to use its observation vehicles to measure radiation within 20-30 kilometers of the nuclear power plant. However, upon being questioned on the results and its health effects, the spokesman stated "We will not evaluate the data. We cannot comment on the instructions of the Chief Cabinet Secretary." In addition, a reporter from the
Sankei Shimbun The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei ...
stated that Edano had instructed him to "centralize the information somewhere and not release it without permission," which eventually led to the release of the results through the SPEEDI Network. However, contrary to Edano's instructions to unify the SPEEDI prediction results for radiation analyzed by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, only two of the forty-five results were sent to the Prime Minister's Office. On the other hand, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology sent the results to the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
immediately after the disaster through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
. The United States
Nuclear Regulatory Commission The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the ...
released internal documents on the aftermath of the
Tokyo Electric Power Company is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, an ...
Fukushima disaster. Among them was a record where Edano requested that a nuclear power expert be permanently placed in the Prime Minister's Office as a form of support for Japan, with the
Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
saying Edano made one more request, stating that the expert in question not be allowed into the Prime Minister's residence. When a hydrogen explosion occurred in the reactor building of Unit 3 of the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma, Fukushima, Ōkuma and Futaba, Fukushima, Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, suffered major damage from the 201 ...
, the Cabinet's Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission proposed that the evacuation radius be extended from 20 to 30 kilometers. In response, Edano and others argued it would be necessary to draw up a large-scale evacuation, stating that "It's fine to expand the evacuation area to 30 kilometers, but it's better to limit it to evacuation indoors." At a press conference held by him at 2 am on March 12, he said on safety considerations for residents before opening vents that "Evacuation within 3 kilometers of the power plant and evacuation indoors within 10 kilometers will allow residents to ensure everyone's safety." In April 2011, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology set a safety standard for children of 3.8
microsieverts The sievert (symbol: SvPlease note there are two non-SI units that use the same Sv abbreviation: the sverdrup and svedberg.) is a derived unit in the International System of Units (SI) intended to represent the stochastic health risk of ionizing ...
per hour, equivalent to 33 millisieverts per year, but left local governments to decide decontamination methods and didn't take proactive measures. This led the local governments around the power plant to remove topsoil which might have been contaminated with
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
. Regarding the removal of topsoil, Edano recognized the risk of radioactive waste in topsoil, but expressed the view that removal of it is not necessary so-long as the topsoil is handled under the guidelines of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.


Noda Cabinet

With the formation of the Noda Cabinet following the resignation of
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 ...
, he resigned as Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister in Charge of Administrative Reform. Initially, he stated that he would instead support the cabinet as a private citizen, but was then appointed as the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The , METI for short, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic acti ...
ten days later by Noda following Yoshio Hachiro's resignation due to alleged inappropriate behavior related to the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. On October 3, 2011, he was also appointed the Special Minister for Compensation of Nuclear Damage. In November 2011, the Ryounkai group re-organized, with Edano now becoming secretary-general and Maehara beginning to serve as Chairman of the organization. On April 3, 2012, a periodic inspection of the
Kansai Electric Power Company , also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan (including the Keihanshin megalopolis). The Kansai region is Japan's second-largest industrial area, and in normal times, its most nuclear-reliant. Bef ...
's Ōi Nuclear Power Plant 3 and 4, which had been out of operation, confirmed that KEPCO's safety standards had met the government's standards, and issued a declaration of safety. Furthermore, if the power plant wasn't restarted, and the heat wave occurring that year reached levels of 2010, it was thought there would be a power shortage of up to 20% within Kansai Electric's jurisdiction, leading to a rise in electricity price rates, leading to a statement released that ended in "`there is a need to restart �i powerplant." The following day, on the 14th, he met with Governor Issei Nishikawa of
Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...
, explaining the need for Unit 3 and 4 to be restarted, and asking for his cooperation in restarting operations. On June 1, he stated that "both units will not be able to generate electricity at full capacity until July", indicating that they would not be able to make it in time for July 2 when a 15% power saving request begins within the Kansai Electric Power Company's jurisdiction. On June 16, the government announced it would restart operations with Governor Nishikawa's consent. On June 18, KEPCO president Makoto Yagi was instructed to ensure the safety of the work in preparation for restarting operations, and requested confirmation of safety measures as a prerequisite for restarting the plants. Later, on July 25, in response to the full operation of Unit 4 restarting, KEPCO President Yagi stated on the also shut-down Takahama Nuclear Power Plant "We would like to make arrangements with the government to restart them as a priority." In response, Edano said "This is a very unpleasant comment. There is no way we can restart operations without thoroughly checking safety", and expressed the idea that an eye should be kept on the evaluation and judgment by the
Nuclear Regulation Authority The is an administrative body of the Cabinet of Japan established to ensure nuclear safety in Japan as part of the Ministry of the Environment. Established on September 19, 2012, its first head was Shunichi Tanaka. Background The NRA was forme ...
, which was set to be created in September that year. On August 28, regarding the power supply and demand within KEPCO jurisdiction, which achieved its power saving goal in the summer, he said that the situation "would have been very dire" if the Oi Power Plant hadn't been able to restart. On September 15, a meeting was held in
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
with Governor Mimura and the heads of local municipalities which held power plants. Edano spoke about the development of both the Ōma Nuclear Power Plant and Shimane Nuclear Power Plant, whose constructions were both halted after the earthquake in 2011. He effectively conveyed his want to resume the construction of the Shimane Power Plant later that year. In September 2012, Edano approved the resumption of construction in Shimane, and, in October, the Ōma Power Plant was given the go-ahead to resume construction as well.


Post-cabinet DPJ Years

In the 2012 election, the DPJ suffered a crushing defeat, but Edano managed to hold onto his single-seat constituency by 5 points, becoming the only DPJ member to hold a single seat constituency in Saitama. Edano was named secretary general of the DPJ in September 2014. Edano again held his single seat in the 2014 election, but by a much slimmer two points. After the 2015 representative election, he remained as secretary-general under
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party (Japan, 2016), Democratic Party, and previously of th ...
. In March 2016, the 2016 form of the Democratic Party was created from a merger of the DPJ,
Japan Innovation Party The is a conservative and centre-right to right-wing populist political party in Japan. Formed as Initiatives from Osaka in October 2015 from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party, the party became the third-biggest opposition party in ...
, and Vision of Reform. Edano joined the new party and remained as secretary-general following the merger as well. Later that year in October, he also became the Democratic Party's Constitutional Research Chair. Next year, on July 27, 2017, Democratic Party representative Renhō announced her resignation following the lackluster results in the 2017 Tokyo prefectural election, where Democratic Party candidates even underpreformed the JCP. Edano ran for party leadership in the September election, but in a battle with
Seiji Maehara is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024. Maehara was the ...
and the Ryounkai, lost.


Constitutional Democratic Party


Leadership

On the afternoon of September 28, 2017, at a general meeting of members of both houses of the Democratic Party in preparation for the
2017 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 22 October 2017. Voting took place in all Representatives constituencies of Japan – 289 single-member districts and eleven proportional blocks – in order to appoint all 465 members (down from 475) of t ...
- which Abe had called only three weeks after the DP leadership election - leader Seiji Maehara proposed de-facto joining the new party founded by
Yuriko Koike Yuriko Koike (小池 百合子, Koike Yuriko; born 15 July 1952) is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she was also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member o ...
,
Kibō no Tō was a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Governor of Tokyo, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The party was founded just before the call of the 2017 Japanese general election, 2017 gen ...
. Maehara also made is clear he opposed security legislation. Maehara's proposal was accepted, and Edano briefly thought that the merger would work. However, about two hours later, Koike, who was serving as party representative, said "I don't think anyone who wants to join the ibō no Tōand doesn't support the security legislation will apply in the first place." On September 29, Koike stated at a regular press conference that she would exclude left-wing and liberal members of the Democratic Party, subject to acceptance of the security legislation and amendment of the constitution. In the early hours of September 30,
Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million ...
reported that Edano had begun to consider running as an independent, or possibly forming a new party for now party-less liberals of the former DP. On the same day, an alleged "exclusion list" of 15 former and current DP politicians allegedly created by Koike was circulated. That night, Edano, Akira Nagatsuma, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, Shoichi Kondo, and Tetsuro Fukuyama met in a hotel room in Tokyo to discuss the possibility of forming a new party. On October 1, citizens opposed to the Abe Cabinet held a large-scale demonstration around
Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in Tokyo, Japan, that serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central/eastern Tokyo (the Special wards of Tokyo, special wards) and Western Tokyo on the inter-city rail, commuter rail, and rapid tr ...
. Edano appeared at
Nishi-Shinjuku is a skyscraper business district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The region was previously called . History Nishi-Shinjuku was Tokyo's first major foray into building skyscrapers with the first appearing in the 1970s with Keio Plaza Inter-Con ...
park and gave a speech in which he said "I will protect and fight for the constitutionalism, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and information disclosure that the Abe administration has destroyed." Demonstrators told the media "What is needed is to not exclude liberals", and "If Mr. Edano decides to form a new party, we'd like to support him". On the evening of the same day, Edano asked Maehara to officially recognize politicians who did not wish to join
Kibō no Tō was a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Governor of Tokyo, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The party was founded just before the call of the 2017 Japanese general election, 2017 gen ...
as DP members, but Maehara denied the request, meaning that the only way forward for Edano was to either form a new party or run as an independent. Around the same time, other candidates who had been rejected were requesting a new party to form for liberals, and rumors began to spread on the internet of Edano becoming the presumptive leader of a possible new party. The four members who had previously met in the hotel room decided to announce the formation of the party on the next day, the 2nd. Edano was given the choice between three names; the "Democratic Party", "New Democratic Party of Japan", or "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan". Fukuyama immediately asked a designer he knew to create three logo designs. Of the three choices, the "Democratic Party" received strong backlash from online campaign staff, citing that it would link the new party back to the negative connotations of the former DPJ government. They also protested "New Democratic Party", citing a jinx in party names with the word new in that they quickly faded away. Eventually, "Constitutional Democratic Party" was picked due to the pre-war parties which shared characters with the name, which seemed like a positive idea to Edano. The next morning, Edano informed Fukuyama of the choice. Also that morning, Edano visited
RENGO Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and south of the national capital Santiago. It was named after the c ...
Headquarters and met with President Rikio Kozu, explaining the situation and his plans to form a new party. After leaving the Democratic Party, he held a press conference that evening and announced that he would form a new party, the
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left politics, centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling L ...
, to "play the role of putting a stop to the Abe administration's rampage." The next day, Nagatsuma submitted a notification of the formation of the new party to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a Cabinet (government), cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Centr ...
, which was accepted. In the afternoon that day,
Kibō no Tō was a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan founded by Governor of Tokyo, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. The party was founded just before the call of the 2017 Japanese general election, 2017 gen ...
announced 192 of its own candidates for the House of Representative election, including one contesting Edano's own seat. The
JCP JCP may refer to: Businesses *JCPenney, an American department store chain (founded 1902) *Jim Crockett Promotions, an American wrestling company (founded 1931) Government and politics * Jobcentre Plus, United Kingdom (formed 2002) * Joint Comb ...
showed its cooperation with the CDP, and withdrew its candidate from Saitama's 5th district as a sign of goodwill. In the
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 ...
that month, The CDP-SDP-JCP coalition made a shocking finish above Kibō no Tō, overall placing second with five more seats than the party. He himself won his own district by a widened margin of nearly 20 points over
Hideki Makihara is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Tokyo he attended the University of Tokyo and law school at Georgetown University Georgeto ...
once again, a 19% increase in margin for Edano, though Makihara was once again re-elected proportionally. Edano collected 27.57 million yen in the 20 days between announcing the establishment of the party and the election, which was widely considered an outstanding amount compared to that of his past amounts and even Prime Minister (at the time)
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
's. On September 14, 2020, the CDP formed in the 2017 election was dissolved and re-founded a day later as the CDP again. The move happened due to a merger of the majority of the Democratic Party for the People and SDP agreeing to merge with the CDP to form a more unified opposition group, although splinters remained in both parties, including
Yuichiro Tamaki is a Japanese politician and the leader of the Democratic Party For the People (DPFP). He is a member of the House of Representatives, and a former leader of Kibō no Tō. Before joining Kibō, Tamaki was a member of the Democratic Party. E ...
and
Mizuho Fukushima is a Japanese politician and attorney. A native of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, she has been a member of the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors since 1998, was re-elected in 2004 and 2010, and was the head of the Social Democratic Party (J ...
respectively. He ran against Kenta Izumi in the following
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...
and won with a 40% margin.


2021 election and post-leadership

Although the party increased its seats in general to 96 in the
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
election, the merger meant that it had gone down from its 109 seats following it. Even though it had defeated important politicians, such as former Secretary-General of the LDP
Nobuteru Ishihara is a Japanese politician, who served as the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2010 to 2012. Previously, he also served in the House of Representatives as representative from 1990 to 2021. Early life and career Ishihara was ...
and
Akira Amari is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a former member of the House of Representatives of Japan, lower house. Personal life Amari is a native of Atsugi, Kanagawa, where he attende ...
, the party suffered losses such as the defeat of
Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district (Iwate 2nd district prior to the 1996 general election and Iwate 4th district prior to the 2017 general election). H ...
in his single-seat constituency for the first time in fifty years, though he was still re-elected on the proportional block. Edano himself had won his Saitama 5th district by only a 3% margin, and it was not entirely clear he would emerge as the winner until the next day. Although Edano denied resigning as party leader the night of the general election, the party's overall large defeat forced him to announce his intention to resign at the party's executive conference on November 2, and stated that "We must prepare a new system and move forward with next year's House of Councilors elections." He marked the date of November 10, the closing day of the special Diet session, as the day he would resign, and then hold a representative election with the participation of party members. He joined the party group, Sanctuary, on November 5, currently led by Shoichi Kondo. He became an advisor to the group. His resignation as representative was accepted on the 12th, and the schedule for then next representative election was designated. In 2023, after three years of serving without a party position, it was rumored he wanted to take back leadership of the CDP following Kenta Izumi's failure to recapture momentum in the party. He released a revised version of the "Edano Vision", a manifesto he published when he served as party leader, in August 2023. On July 11, 2024, it was leaked that he would most likely run for leadership in the fall. While Edano denounced the leak, he publicly announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would run for leadership on 9 August. In the election held on 23 September, Edano lost to former 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 ...
, winning 180 points to Noda's 232.


Political views

Edano has described himself as both liberal and conservative, believing the labels do not conflict with one another. He supports separate surnames for married couples. According to himself, the conservative values he would prefer to enshrine would be the idea of a "mutual support rather than a laissez-faire approach to self-responsibility," further stating his wish to "value freedom, ndrecognize diverse values". He personally considers himself a "mainstream conservative", still reportedly saying to former Prime Minister
Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He was the country's first socialist premier since Tetsu Katayama in 1948, and is best remembered for the Murayama Statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of ...
that he will "form another liberal government while you're still well".


"Constitutional Democracy"

Upon founding the CDP in 2017, he advocated what he described as the doctrine of "constitutional democracy", which he ascribed to the idea that "true democracy is established when state power is limited by the constitution". He stated in a speech in Yurakucho that "In recent years, we have found ourselves in a situation where we need to remember the word constitutionalism once again. That is Japan today." He also argued that the main political conflict of the 21st century is not between the left and right, but rather a top-down vs grassroots approach, going on to advocate for the idea, saying that "This is not democracy from above, where people can make arbitrary decisions because they have the numbers, but democracy at the grassroots. Rather than economic policy from above that makes the strong stronger and eventually trickles down to you, it improves the economy by boosting livelihoods."


Controversy

On March 27, 2010, on the centennial of Japan–Korean annexation, Yukio Edano, then Japanese Minister of State for Government Revitalization, stated that "The invasion and colonization of China and Korea was historically inevitable ... since China and Korea could not modernize themselves."


Family

Edano is married and has twin sons.


References


External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edano, Yukio 1964 births Democratic Party of Japan politicians Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan Government ministers of Japan Japan New Party politicians Liberalism in Japan Living people Japanese social liberals Members of the House of Representatives from Saitama Prefecture People from Utsunomiya, Tochigi Tohoku University alumni Noda cabinet Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan politicians Ministers of economy, trade and industry of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2005–2009 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2012–2014 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2014–2017 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2017–2021 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2021–2024 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2024–