| Katsuya Okada 岡田 克也 |
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 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on September 21, 2009 |
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Member of the House of Representatives
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| Assumed office 1988 |
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| Constituency | Mie 3rd. District (Elected sixth) |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office September 16, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Hirofumi Nakasone |
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| Born | July 14, 1953 Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture |
| Political party | Democratic Party of Japan |
| Website | www.katsuya.net |
Katsuya Okada (岡田克也 Okada Katsuya, born July 14, 1953) is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, and the former president and current Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Japan. From September 2009, he has served as the country's Foreign Minister.[1]
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Early life and family
He is the second son of Takuya Okada, who is a founder of Japanese retail giant AEON Group.[2] His elder brother, Motoya Okada is the President and CEO of AEON Group. He has a younger brother and a half-sister. A native of Yokkaichi, Mie, Okada graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in law, and entered the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He also studied at Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs in Harvard University.[3]
Political career
He ran for the House of Representatives at the 1990 general election from LDP and later joined the Takeshita faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, and followed faction leaders Tsutomu Hata and Ichirō Ozawa to join the Japan Renewal Party in 1993.[2] Through a series of splits and mergers, Okada then became a member of the Shinshinto, Sun Party, and Minseito, finally entering the DPJ upon its merger with Minseito in 1998.[2]
He became president of the DPJ on May 18, 2004, and led the DPJ to one of its largest electoral victories in history during the 2004 House of Councillors election. However, he resigned after his party suffered dramatic losses in the September 2005 general election.[4]
Following the success of the Democratic Party of Japan in the 2009 general election, leader Yukio Hatoyama selected Okada to be the Foreign Minister.[5]
Okada is said to be an avid collector of frog knick knacks, which decorate his office.[5]
References
- ^ Hatoyama starts naming Cabinet minister candidates. Mainichi Shimbun. September 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c Profile: Katsuya Okada. BBC News. September 8, 2005
- ^ Centrepiece: Newsletter of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University. 23 (1), 2008.
- ^ Koizumi Clinches Historic Election Victory. The Seoul Times. September 11, 2005.
- ^ a b Nishikawa, Yoko; Sieg, Linda; Roddy, Michael (September 5, 2009). Key facts about Okada, to be Japan foreign minister. Reuters.
External links
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Naoto Kan |
Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan 2004-2005 |
Succeeded by Seiji Maehara |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Hirofumi Nakasone |
Minister for Foreign Affairs September 16, 2009 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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