JAPANESE CABINET RESHUFFLED: PLAYING IT SAFE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 002122 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINR JA SUBJECT: JAPANESE CABINET RESHUFFLED: PLAYING IT SAFE Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jim Zumwalt for reasons 1.4(b) a nd (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda August 1 announced a new cabinet and a new leadership lineup for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The new cabinet reflects a cautious balance of party factions that may strengthen Fukuda's base within the ruling coalition but will likely do little to boost his weak public standing or improve the Cabinet's poor coordination. The retention of Nobutaka Machimura, who has strained relations with Fukuda, as Chief Cabinet Secretary, and the appointment of rival faction leaders such as Taro Aso, Makoto Koga, and Bunmei Ibuki to key party and ministerial posts suggest that Fukuda's primary objective was to co-opt internal critics. Nevertheless, the second Fukuda Cabinet is not without talent. New Minister of Finance Kaoru Yosano is a seasoned economic policymaker and Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka a respected legal policy expert. The attestation ceremony for the new cabinet is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 2 at 10:00 AM, and the cabinet will then meet for the first time at noon. New Senior Vice Ministers are expected to be announced on August 5, and Parliamentary Vice Ministers will be announced on August 6. Bio information is provided below for newly appointed ministers, or for reappointed ministers that required updating. END SUMMARY. -------------- NEW CABINET LINEUP -------------- ¶2. (U) Following are the members of the new cabinet: -- Prime Minister: Yasuo Fukuda, LDP (no change); -- Chief Cabinet Secretary: Nobutaka Machimura, LDP (no change); -- Minister of Foreign Affairs: Masahiko Koumura, LDP (no change) -- Minister of Defense: Hayashi Yoshimasa, LDP (replacing Shigeru Ishiba); -- Minister of Finance: Bunmei Ibuki, LDP (replacing Fukushiro Nukaga); -- Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry: Toshihiro Nikai, LDP (replacing Akira Amari); -- Minister of Justice: Okiharu Yasuoka, LDP (replacing Kunio Hatoyama); -- Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries: Ota Seichi, LDP (replacing Nasatoshi Wakabayashi); -- Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation, In Charge of Tourism and Oceans Policy: Sadakazu Tanigaki, LDP (replacing Tetsuzo Fuyushiba); -- Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Decentralization, Urban-Rural Gap, Postal Privatization: Hiroya Masuda, Private Sector (no change); -- Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Tsuneo Suzuki, LDP (replacing Kisaburo Toki) -- Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare: Yoichi Masuzoe, LDP (no change); -- Minister of Environment, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems: Tetsuo Saito, New Komeito (replacing Ichiro Kamoshita); TOKYO 00002122 002 OF 009 -- National Public Safety Commission Chairman, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories, and Disaster Management: Motoo Hiyashi, LDP (replacing Shinya Izumi); -- Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Space Policy, Consumer Administration, Food Safety: Noda Seiko, LDP (replacing Fumio Kishida); -- Minister of State for Gender Equality, Social Affairs, Abduction Issue, Public Records Management, and National Archives: Kyoko Nakayama, LDP (replacing Yoko Kamikawa); -- Minister of State for Economic, Fiscal Policy: Kaoru Yosano, LDP (replacing Hiroko Ota); -- Minister of State for Financial Services and Administrative Reform: Toshimitsu Motegi, LDP (replacing Yoshimi Watanabe); -------------- LDP LEADERSHIP SLATE -------------- ¶3. (U) The following are the new leaders of the LDP: -- President: Yasuo Fukuda (no change); -- Secretary General: Taro Aso (replacing Bunmei Ibuki, moved to Minister of Finance); -- General Affairs Council Chairman: Takashi Sasagawa (replacing Toshihiro Nikai, named as new Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry); -- Policy Research Council Chairman: Kosuke Hori (replacing Sadakazu Tanigaki); -- Election Strategy Council Chairman: Makoto Koga (no change.) -------------- BIO INFO FOR NEW MINISTERS -------------- ¶4. (C) MINISTER OF DEFENSE: Yashimasa HAYASHI, 47, is a third-term member of the Upper House of the Diet, representing Yamaguchi Prefecture. He was first elected in ¶1996. Hayashi is considered an expert on economic and finance issues, with no prior experience on security policy issues. This will be his first Cabinet post, although he has served as a parliamentary vice minister at the Ministry of Finance and Cabinet Office. Hayashi is a strong supporter of U.S.-Japan relations and is expected to effectively articulate government policies. He is unlikely to be able to compete with Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura and Foreign Minister Koumura in the formulation of the Cabinet's security policies. Hayashi graduated from Tokyo University's Law Department and Harvard University. His hobbies are tennis and music. Hayashi has strong English language skills. ¶5. (C) MINISTER OF FINANCE: Bunmei IBUKI, 70, is an eight-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing Kyoto district 1. He was first elected in 1983. His most recent position was as LDP Secretary General. Ibuki was also appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2006 where he dispelled criticism stemming from a campaign financing scandal and focused on enacting PM Abe's top education reform initiatives, including a law that would make patriotism a goal of the public education curriculum. Ibuki is the head of the Ibuki faction in the LDP and was a strong backer of the ABE administration. Previous work relevant to his new portfolio includes TOKYO 00002122 003 OF 009 chairman of the 2004 LDP Working Group of the Research Commission on the Tax System, chairman of the 1999 LDP Research Commission on the Pension System, and more than 20 years working at the Ministry of Finance, including in the Budget and International Finance Bureau, before quitting the Ministry to try his hand at national politics. Born into a traditional textile wholesaler family dating back to the Edo Period, Ibuki is a true-bred son of Kyoto, graduating from Kyoto University. He is well-liked by his colleagues for his humble attitude and for taking good care of people around him. Ibuki seems to be an open and outgoing politician as his website features several pictures from his birth to his days in the Diet, and he claims to maintain a wide variety of friends, including scholars, businessmen, diplomats, and political pundits. One of his most recent high-profile responsibilities included acting as Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission. He also served as Labor Minister under the late Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Other previous government and LDP jobs include Parliamentary Vice Health Minister and chairman of the Lower House Committee on Education. Ibuki speaks fluent English, having served at the Japanese Embassy in London for four years in the 1960s. He is married with a son and daughter. He is an avid tennis player, enjoys the Japanese game of "Go," appreciates the Japanese traditional comic storytelling called "rakugo," and likes cooking and participating in study circles. Ibuki is also the author of several books focused on politics in Japan, particularly concerning Japan's vision for the future. ¶6. (C) MINISTER OF ECONOMY, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY (METI): Toshihiro NIKAI, 69, is an eight-term member of the Lower House of the Diet from Wakayama's 3rd District and returns to METI where he served in the third Koizumi cabinet from 2005-2006. Nikai has his own 16-member faction and previously served as LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman under former Prime Minister Abe. He is known for his pro-China stance. During his previous tenure at METI, Nikai put forth a plan for Asian regional integration based on an "ASEAN Plus 6" model. At the same time, he was the impetus behind Japan's proposal to set up the Economic Research Institute for East Asia (ERIEA),which recently began operating at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Although Nikai has been a Diet member since 1983, he left the LDP in 1993 and was a founder of the Japan Renewal Party, (Shinsei-to) with current Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa. Nikai, together with Ozawa, later joined the New Frontier Party headed by former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. After the collapse of the Hosokawa Cabinet, Nikai was associated with a number of smaller parties, including a stint as Ozawa's senior deputy when Ozawa headed the Liberal Party in the late 1990's. Nikai returned to the LDP in 2003. Due to his experience in both ruling and opposition parties, he is known as a deft behind-the-scenes political negotiator, with strong connections to both coalitions and ruling parties. He is credited with playing a key role in the LDP's landslide victory in September 2005. Nikai's other cabinet-level assignments have included a term as Director General of the Hokkaido Development Agency, Minister of Transportation and Minister in charge of International Exhibitions. Nikai is a graduate of Chuo University, and before entering national politics served as secretary to then Construction Minister Saburo Endo. He also served as a Wakayama prefectural assembly member for two terms. Nikai is married with children. He does not speak English. ¶7. (C) MINISTER OF JUSTICE: Okiharu YASUOKA, 69, is an eleven-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing the Kagoshima 1 district, and was first elected in 1972. He belongs to the Yamasaki faction led by Taku Yamasaki, LDP Chairman of the Research Commission on Foreign Affairs. This will be his second time as Minister of Justice; he served in the same position in 2000. Yasuoka TOKYO 00002122 004 OF 009 specializes in judicial, financial and commerce affairs, as well as intellectual property issues. He is an active promoter of constitutional reform and serving as the principal ranking member of the Lower House Special Committee for Research on the Constitution of Japan. He introduced legislation on the procedure to be followed for conducting the national referendum for constitutional reform which came into effect in 2007. Yasuoka graduated from Chuo University. He passed the bar exam and served as a district court judge and as an attorney. He left the LDP in 1994 to join the New Frontier Party, but returned to the LDP in 1995. Yasuoka is married and has one son and three daughters. His hobbies include swimming, jogging, and reading. ¶8. (C) MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES (MAFF): Seiichi Ota, 63, is an eight-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing Fukuoka third district. He was first elected in 1980. He belongs to the Koga faction. Ota served concurrently as Minister of State in Charge of Administrative Reform and Director-General of the Management and Coordination Agency (1998) and as Chief, LDP Political Reform Headquarters (1999). He has been Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Committee on Finance in the Lower House. Before starting his political career, Ota was teaching Economics at Fukuoka University as an Assistant Professor and at Brown University as a Visiting Assistant Professor. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics. His cousin is Kyoko Fukuda, who is married to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. In 2003, Ota made headlines with shocking statements regarding a gang rape case, for which he was publicly criticized. His hobbies include reading and karaoke singing. ¶9. (C) MINISTER OF LAND, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION AND TOURISM: Sadakazu TANIGAKI, 63, is a nine-term member of the Lower House representing Kyoto fifth district. He was first elected in 1983. He heads his own 16-person LDP faction. Most recently, Tanigaki served as the Chairman of LDP,s Research Council (2006-2008),and as Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Koizumi (2003-2006). Other prior positions include Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Finance, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Science and Technology, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Defense, and Parliamentary Vice Minister for Posts and Telecommunications. Tanigaki came in third in the September 2006 LDP presidential race, behind Shinzo ABE and Taro Aso. He is a smooth and engaging interlocutor and is comfortable with the details of policy discussions. Tanigaki has been a steady champion of fiscal reform and is known as a foreign policy moderate, but he has exercised less influence under PM Fukuda than his position would suggest. Tanigaki graduated from the University of Tokyo,s Faculty of Law in 1972 and practiced law until 1983, when he was elected to his father's Lower House Diet seat. Born in Tokyo to a wealthy family, he is married with two daughters. Tanigaki is a cycling enthusiast and a wine expert. He speaks some English, but has preferred to use an interpreter in meetings with U.S. officials. ¶10. (C) MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Hiroya MASUDA, 56, remains as MIC minister. Not a Diet member, Masuda is the former governor of Iwate Prefecture, where he was known as a reformer and an advocate of bringing corporate management practices to the prefecture's administration. Masuda was elected governor at the age of 43 -- the youngest on record at that time -- and served for three terms, from 1995 to 2007. During his first term as minister, Masuda pushed for more decentralization of power away from Tokyo, but he made little progress, which has somewhat tarnished his reformer image. Some commentators have faulted his lack of national political standing for his inability to push reform past his ministry's bureaucrats. A graduate from Tokyo University, Masuda is also a 17-year TOKYO 00002122 005 OF 009 former Ministry of Construction (now Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) official. He is married and his hobbies are skiing and horse riding. ¶11. (C) MINISTER OF EDUCATION, CULTURE, SPORTS, AND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Tsuneo SUZUKI, 67, is a sixth-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing Kanagawa 7th district. He was first elected in 1986. He belongs to the Aso faction of the LDP led by Taro Aso, former Minister of Foreign Affairs. While in the Diet, Suzuki has specialized in education issues, having previously served as Parliamentary Secretary at the former Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture in 1992 and 2000. He also served as Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Environment in 1996 and as Chair of the Lower House Education Committee in ¶1999. A strong advocate of environmental issues, he led a delegation to earthquake-stricken Iwate Prefecture as Disaster Prevention Committee Chair in June 2008. However, in 2003, he unsuccessful submitted an environmental education bill to the Diet. Embassy contacts report Suzuki is easygoing and connected with the media. A graduate from First Faculty of Politics and Economy at Waseda University in 1963, Suzuki is a former journalist for Mainichi Newspaper reporting on Japanese politics for 15 years and he was secretary to Lower House member Kono Yohei, a former LDP President. Suzuki's hobbies include classical music and soccer. ¶12. (C) MINISTER OF HEALTH, LABOR, AND WELFARE (MHLW): Yoichi MASUZOE, 59, remains as MHLW minister. A second-term member of the Upper House proportional representation block, Masuzoe was first elected in 2001 and is not affiliated with any LDP faction. Since he joined the Diet, he has shown interest in reform of the pension, civil service, and education systems, in addition to espousing child-rearing support and amendment of the constitution. Masuzoe has also been vocal about issues related to Japan's aging population. During his year as a cabinet member, Masuzoe weathered the government's continuing problems with matching garbled pension records to their rightful owners, the fallout from a policy change that raised medical costs for seniors, and a series of food safety scandals. Previously, Masuzoe has served as Chairman of the LDP Policy Board in the Upper House, as well as Director of the Committee on Financial Affairs and the Committee on Discipline of the Upper House. A graduate of the University of Tokyo, Masuzoe worked as an Associate Professor of International Relations at Tokyo University, specializing in French politics and diplomacy as well as international relations. His book on welfare issues, his political commentary, and frequent television appearances have given him wide name recognition, and he has been one of the ABE and Fukuda cabinets' most popular politicians. Masuzoe is married without children. His second wife, Satsuki Katayama, is a first-term member of the LDP Lower House representing Shizuoka seventh district. Masuzoe's hobbies include horseback riding, golf, and skiing; he has a black belt in judo. He speaks excellent English and French, having been a visiting fellow at the University of Paris and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, and was an engaging interlocutor during the May 2008 G8 Labor and Employment Ministers' Meeting. ¶13. (C) MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT: Tetsuo SAITO, 56, is a five-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing the Chugoku proportional-representation constituency, and was first elected in 1993. He belongs to the New Komeito party. While in the Diet, Saito has worked on an array of issues such as education, culture, science and technology, and energy; but has never specialized in the environment. He has previously served as Parliamentary Secretary of Science and Technology (1999),Chair of the Standing Committee on Education and Science of the Lower House (twice in 2004 and 2006) and currently serves as Chair of New Komeito's Policy TOKYO 00002122 006 OF 009 Affairs Research Council. Saito has addressed the Diet over 180 times and was involved in establishing the Basic Law on Science and Technology Advancement and the Basic Law on Culture and Art Advancement. Recently, Saito was very active in addressing the energy crisis and requested emergency measures against oil price increases in June 2008. Saito has a Ph.D. in engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and previously worked as a researcher for the Shimizu Corporation, a leading architectural, engineering and general contracting firm. MOE officials told Econ officer they were not familiar with Saito and declined to comment on his appointment. Saito is married, with three daughters. He is a railroad enthusiast and enjoys traveling by train. Although he was a visiting researcher at Princeton University from 1986 to 1989, he is not fluent in English, according to his staff. ¶14. (C) NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR OKINAWA AND NORTHERN TERRITORIES, AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT: Motoo HAYASHI, 61, is a five-term member of the Lower House of the Diet representing the Chiba 10th District. He was first elected in 1993. He belongs to the Yamasaki faction of the LDP. His mottos are "politics that is easy for the public to understand who the main character is" and "realization of a heart-felt society with priority on people's lives." He entered politics in 1972 as a secretary to his father, Taikan Hayashi, who was also a LDP Lower House representative. Motoo Hayashi was later elected as a member of the Chiba Prefectural Assembly and served three terms in the local legislature. During that time he also served as Vice-Chair for policy research coordination for the LDP Chiba chapter. He assumed his father's constituency and was elected to the Diet in 1993. Since then he has served as the Parliamentary Vice Minister for Transportation under the Obuchi Cabinet in 1998, and as Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation under the Koizumi Cabinet in 2003. His hobby is reading. ¶15. (C) MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY, SPACE POLICY, CONSUMER ADMINISTRATION, AND FOOD SAFETY: Seiko NODA, 47, is a fifth-term member of the Lower House of the Diet. First elected in 1993, she was ousted from the party in 2005 as a "postal rebel" for failing to support then-Prime Minister Koizumi's reform initiative, only to return again in December 2006 after pledging to support the reform program. Noda was Minister for Posts and Communications in the first Obuchi cabinet in 1998 at the age of 37 and at that time had been considered a Diet member with good prospects to become the first female Prime Minister. She has worked most recently as Chair of the LDP,s Research Commission on Consumer Issues, creating the legal framework for Prime Minister Fukuda's proposed Consumer Agency. In a recent meeting with Embassy officials, she described working closely with PM Fukuda on plans for the Consumer Agency, which she called his favorite current policy project. Her grandfather is former Minister of Construction Uichi Noda. She spent some years at Jonesville High School in Michigan, and her hobbies include reading books, watching movies and karaoke. ¶16. (C) MINISTER OF STATE FOR GENDER EQUALITY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, ABDUCTION ISSUE, PUBLIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT, AND NATIONAL ARCHIVES: Kyoko NAKAYAMA, 68, has been the lead official in the Cabinet since 2002 handling the issue of abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea. A first term member of the Upper House and LDP member, she won her seat in July 2007. Nakayama served as Special Advisor on Abductions to the Cabinet from 2002 to 2004 and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Abductions since September ¶2006. PM Fukuda's decision to create a State Minister for Abductions and elevate Mrs. Nakayama to the position will help insulate him from criticism that he is not sympathetic to the abductees and abductee family groups, which have particularly close ties to Mrs. Nakayama. A graduate of TOKYO 00002122 007 OF 009 Tokyo University, Nakayama joined the Finance Ministry in 1966 and served 27 years, retiring in 1993. She served as Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from 1999 to 2002. She is married to LDP Lower House member, Nariaki Nakayama, who is a former Education Minister known for pressing for revisions of Japanese textbooks to remove references to comfort women and Japanese military abuses in World War Two. ¶17. (C) MINISTER OF STATE FOR ECONOMIC AND FISCAL POLICY: Kaoru YOSANO, 69, is a nine-term member of the Lower House of the Diet representing Tokyo 1 district. He was first elected in 1976 and served as the Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy and Financial Services in 2005 prior to becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary for one month in 2007. He is not a member of any faction. Yosano is a rare LDP "justice-tribe" member and also a well-known specialist on economic and fiscal policy, having also served as chairman of the LDP Research Commission on the Tax System. Like former Finance Minister Tanigaki, he is a strong advocate of fiscal reconstruction through tax increases, having lobbied Prime Minister Fukuda to double the 5 percent consumption tax. As LDP Policy Research Council chairman in 2004, Yosano pushed forward former PM Koizumi's postal privatization initiative. Yosano started his political career as secretary to then Diet member and future Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. ¶18. (C) MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM: Toshimitsu MOTEGI, 53, is a fifth-term member of the Lower House of the Diet. A native of Ashikaga, Tochigi, he was first elected to the Diet in 1993 as a member of the Japan New Party. A graduate of the University of Tokyo and Harvard University (with a graduate degree in public policy),Motegi,s private-sector experience includes a stint in the early 1980s as a political reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun, and eight years (1983-1991) with McKinsey Consultants. Motegi,s roles in the government include Parliamentary Secretary of International Trade and Industry (1999-2000),Vice Foreign Minister (2002-2003),and Minister of State (2003-2004) in charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, responsible for protecting personal information, science and technology policy, information and communications technology. Other relevant Diet experience includes chairing the Committee on Health, Welfare and Labor (2007),membership in the Administrative Committee on Financial Monitoring (2006-2007),and most recently, Vice-Chairman of the Defined Contribution Pension Special Committee. -------------- BIO INFO FOR NEW PARTY LEADERS -------------- ¶19. (C) LDP SECRETARY GENERAL: Taro ASO, 67, is a nine-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing Fukuoka 8 district, and was first elected to office in 1979. He heads his own faction of 15 members. He specializes in both economic and foreign policy issues and is familiar with the party management having served in previous cabinets as Foreign Minister, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communication, and State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy. With the party, he has served previously as LDP Secretary General and LDP Policy research Council Chairman. Aso ran against Prime Minister Fukuda in the 2007 LDP presidential election, but was defeated. He is currently considered by many to be the most likely successor to PM Fukuda's and has made it known that he wants to become Prime Minister. Known for his hawkish stances, Aso is a strong supporter of the U.S.-Japan Alliance. As Foreign Minister, introduced the "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity" concept which called for the promotion of democracy and human rights in newly-democratizing state and for more effective use of official development assistance. A graduate of Gakushuin University, he studied at Stanford University and the London TOKYO 00002122 008 OF 009 School of Economics before joining the family business, Aso Cement, Inc., in 1966. He is a grandson of the late Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida and son-in-law of the late Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki. At one time an avid skeet shooter, Aso was a member of Japan's shooting squad at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. His younger sister is married to Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito. Aso is also a manga comic enthusiast and reads about 10-20 manga magazines and books per week. As Foreign Minister he promoted manga as a major tool for exporting Japanese culture and appointed a "manga Ambassador." He is married, with a daughter and a son. His hobbies include shooting, golf and reading. He speaks English well. ¶20. (C) LDP GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GAC) CHAIRMAN: Takashi SASAGAWA, 72, is a seven-term member of the Lower House of the Diet representing the Gunma 2 district. He was first elected in 1986, and belongs to the Tsushima faction led by Yuji Tsushima, former Health and Welfare Minister. Sasagawa specializes in women and children's issues, especially on the promotion of dual surnames and the zero-waiting list at nursery schools. Sasagawa is no stranger to his new position, having served as acting GAC Chairman twice and GAC Vice Chairman twice. In addition, he has also been Chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee and served in such posts as State Minister for Science and Technology, Lower House Budget Committee Chairman, and Judicial Affairs Committee Chairman. The second son of Ryoichi Sasagawa, a Class A war criminal and founder of the Japan Motorboat Racing Association, his first job was with the motorboat racing association. Sasagawa once left the LDP in 1994 to join the Group of Reform and then the New Frontier Party, but returned to the LDP in 1997. Sasagawa's wife, Yoshie, passed away in 1996. He has 5 sons. His hobbies include golf, baseball, and motor sports in general. He left Meiji University without a diploma. He speaks no English. ¶21. (C) LDP POLICY RESEARCH COUNCIL CHAIRMAN: Kosuke HORI, 73, is a ten-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing the Saga 3 district, and was first elected in ¶1979. He is not affiliated with any faction of the party. Eldest son of former Lower House Speaker Shigeru Hori, he specializes in agricultural issues and is in favor of protecting Japan's agricultural market. A Keio University graduate, Hori has served as Education Minister, Home Affairs Minister, National Public Safety Commission Chairman, and as Chairman of the LDP Research Commission on Comprehensive Agricultural Administration. He voted against the postal privatization bill under the Koizumi Cabinet and was expelled from the LDP, but successfully won the 2005 election as an independent running against an LDP candidate. Hori was subsequently reinstated into the party in 2006 by Prime Minister Abe. He is known as an "old conservative" and as a sincere and polite maverick. His hobbies include "go," golf, and photography. He speaks no English. ¶22. (C) LDP ELECTION STRATEGY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN: Makoto KOGA, 67, is a nine-term member of the Lower House of the Diet, representing Fukuoka 7 district, and was first elected in ¶1980. He is retaining his position as Election Strategy Council Chairman, to which he was appointed in 2007 after Fukuda became Prime Minister. He heads his own faction of 62 members. Known as "Don of the Road Tribe," Koga specializes in road administration and is skilled at managing party and Diet politics, having served in such key posts as Minister of Transportation, LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman, and LDP Secretary General. He is not from a political family and started his political career as a secretary to an Upper House LDP member. Koga was considered "anti-reform" during the administrations of former Prime Ministers Koizumi and Abe, but with their departure he was returned to a position of leadership by Fukuda. Known as a leading liberal voice in the LDP, Koga is Chairman of the Japan War-Bereaved TOKYO 00002122 009 OF 009 Association and has advocated the dis-enshrinement of Class A war criminals from the Yasukuni Shrine. He is not an expert on foreign or national security matters, but has cultivated strong relationships with Chinese leaders through his mentor and former LDP Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka. A graduate of Nihon University, Koga speaks no English. He is married and has one son. Koga may be unhappy with the appointment of Aso as Secretary General because the two dislike each other. Nevertheless, they do cooperate when it advances their own interests to do so. SCHIEFFER