PROFILE OF NEW HATOYAMA CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002177 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON KPAO JA SUBJECT: PROFILE OF NEW HATOYAMA CABINET TOKYO 00002177 001.2 OF 007 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Robert Luke per 1.4 (b/d) -------------- Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. (C) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Yukio Hatoyama was elected the 93rd Prime Minister of Japan on September 16, succeeding Taro Aso, who resigned with his cabinet earlier the same day. Hatoyama then introduced his new 17-member Cabinet. Stacked with current and former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leaders and senior officials, former cabinet ministers under previous Liberal Democratic Party governments, and veteran politicians, the Cabinet is meant to project an image of competence, stability, and experience while quelling concerns about the party's ability to govern Japan. The lineup represents the DPJ's wide ideological spectrum, from progressive to the far right, and the leaders of the DPJ's two coalition partners (the SDP's Fukushima and the PNP's Kamei) are also present. While the Cabinet has a number of allies of the DPJ's powerful Secretary General, Ichiro Ozawa, there are also a number of new Cabinet members antagonistic to him. ¶2. (SBU) Initial press reports have been mostly positive, although the conservative Sankei worries about how Hatoyama's selections may affect the U.S.-Japan relationship. The left-leaning Mainichi Shimbun said, "the Cabinet embodies the emphasis on intra-party balance and stability," while a Nikkei editorial described it as "a rock-solid cabinet formed with intra-party balance in mind." The conservative Yomiuri Shimbun also called the cabinet "a solid lineup that has people of accomplishment in key posts," but cautioned, "it can't be denied that it gives the impression of lacking freshness." The Sankei expressed concern over the ability of Hatoyama's administration to respond realistically and flexibly on foreign policy while maintaining an alliance with the Social Democratic Party (SDP),the DPJ's coalition partner. The Sankei also noted that Okada has stressed creating an "equal partnership" with the U.S., but has not yet enunciated a concrete vision of what that means. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. -------------- NEW CABINET LINEUP -------------- ¶3. (U) Following are the members of the new cabinet (frequent contacts of Embassy Tokyo are noted with an asterisk): -- Deputy Prime Minister; Minister for the National Strategy Bureau; State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Science and Technology Policy: Naoto Kan*, DPJ -- Chief Cabinet Secretary: Hirofumi Hirano, DPJ; -- Minister of Foreign Affairs: Katsuya Okada*, DPJ; -- Minister of Finance: Hirohisa Fujii*, DPJ; -- Minister of Defense: Toshimi Kitazawa, DPJ; -- Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation, and Tourism; State Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories, Disaster Management: Seiji Maehara*, DPJ; -- Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry: Masayuki Naoshima*, DPJ; -- Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries: Hirotaka Akamatsu, DPJ; -- Minister of Justice: Keiko Chiba, DPJ; -- Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare; State Minister for Pension Reform: Akira Nagatsuma*, DPJ; -- Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; State Minister for Decentralization: Kazuhiro Haraguchi, DPJ; -- Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and TOKYO 00002177 002.2 OF 007 Technology: Tatsuo Kawabata, DPJ; -- Minister of the Environment: Sakihito Ozawa*, DPJ; -- State Minister for Financial Affairs, Postal Reform: Shizuka Kamei, PNP; -- National Public Safety Commission Chairman; State Minister for Abduction Issue: Hiroshi Nakai, DPJ; -- State Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety, Declining Birthrate, and Gender Equality: Mizuho Fukushima, SDP; -- State Minister for Administrative Reform, Public Servant System Reform: Yoshito Sengoku*, DPJ. -------------- BIO INFO FOR NEW MINISTERS -------------- ¶4. (C) MINISTER FOR THE NATIONAL STRATEGY BUREAU and DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER and STATE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC AND FISCAL POLICY; SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY: Naoto Kan, 62, is a tenth-term Lower House member from Tokyo's 18th district. A co-founder of the DPJ, Kan has served twice as the party's president (1998 - 1999 and 2002 - 2004). He was HEALTH and Welfare Minister in the Hashimoto cabinet (1996),and most recently has served as acting DPJ president. Kan began his career as a patent lawyer and social activist following his graduation from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and was first elected to the lower house as a member of the now defunct Social Democratic Federation in 1980. He became famous when, as HEALTH Minister, he forced bureaucrats in his own ministry to release documents showing the government's failure to prevent the use of HIV-infected blood products for transfusions. This later made him an opinion-poll favorite to run as the DPJ candidate for PM against LDP President Koizumi, but his reputation was subsequently damaged by a scandal over his failure to make payments into the national pension scheme. ¶5. (C) Kan now is known as a strong advocate of politician-led reforms of the GOJ bureaucracy. Kan and Ichiro Ozawa have what is described as a "tense relationship" and Kan has tried to distance himself from Ozawa following Ozawa's botched attempt to form a grand coalition with the LDP. The two have differences over policies and management style. Kan's double-hatting as Minister of Science and Technology is interesting considering his scientific background (B.S. in physics) and the fact that, in the past, the portfolio has not been handled by prominent politicians. He is married with two sons, and lives in western Tokyo. He does not speak English. ¶6. (C) CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY: Hirofumi Hirano, 60, is a fifth-term Lower House member from Osaka's 11th district. Although not well known by the general public, he is said to be Hatoyama's closest advisor and always accompanies him to provide behind-the-scenes support. Currently Secretary General of the DPJ's Executive Office, his political experience has centered on handling Diet affairs. Hirano was first elected as an independent in 1996 before joining the DPJ in 1998. He has also served as Deputy Secretary General, Acting Diet Affairs Committee Chairman, and Acting Secretary General. He is an executive member of the Japan-ROK Parliamentary League and belonged to the Parliamentary League to Support the Beijing Olympics. Before entering politics he worked as the general manager for political affairs at Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic). Hirano is married and has ONE son and two daughters. He does not speak English. ¶7. (C) MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Katsuya Okada, 56, is a seventh-term DPJ Lower House member from Mie's 3rd district. He brings a straight-laced, no-nonsense "policy wonk" reputation to his new position, and his approach to foreign affairs generally reflects the spectrum of views within his party. In the run-up to the August 30 general election when senior DPJ officials publicly called for redefining the U.S.-Japan Alliance, Okada reassured U.S. officials that a TOKYO 00002177 003.2 OF 007 DPJ-led administration would not institute major changes to bilateral ties. He stressed the importance of building a relationship of trust and the need to strengthen security relations into the future. Okada also generally advocates a greater role for Japan in international affairs and expanded contributions to UN peacekeeping operations. However, Okada has broached several provocative policy proposals, such as calling for a Northeast Asia nuclear free zone and suggesting that Japan terminate its Indian Ocean refueling mission. Regional neighbors China and South Korea are likely to welcome his appointment, considering his conciliatory stance on the controversial issue of wartime responsibility. ¶8. (C) The son of a supermarket magnate, Okada studied at Harvard University in the mid 1980s before embarking on a fast track 12-year career in the Trade Ministry. Okada began his political career in the LDP in 1990 but bolted with other reformers in 1993 to join the New Frontier Party. He helped establish the DPJ in 1998. Known as the party's "Mr. Clean" -) he does not drink and "carouse," according to his colleagues -- Okada has held several key party posts, including shadow finance minister (1999 - 2000),policy council chair (2000 - 02),and secretary general (2002 - 04, 2009). As DPJ leader in 2004, Okada led the DPJ to significant gains in the Upper House election but resigned just ONE year later to take responsibility for the party's defeat in Lower House elections. Okada is married with a daughter and two sons. His hobbies include reading, watching movies, working out in the gym, and collecting frog ornaments. Okada speaks English, but prefers to use an interpreter during official meetings. ¶9. (C) MINISTER OF FINANCE: Hirohisa Fujii, 77, is a seventh-term Lower House member elected as a proportional representative from the southern Kanto area. After graduating from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law in 1955, Fujii joined the Ministry of Finance (MOF) where he served as secretary to two Chief Cabinet Secretaries in the Sato (1971) and Tanaka (1972) Cabinets. Indicative of how long Fujii has been around, he often speaks fondly of his collegial relationship with former Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen. After his 1976 retirement from MOF, Fujii was elected twice (1977 and 1983) to the Upper House as a member of the LDP. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Finance in 1981, and Upper House Finance Committee Chairman in 1984. In 1990, Fujii was elected to the Lower House, and in 1993 he was appointed Lower House Finance Committee Chairman. Calling for political reform, he broke away from the LDP in 1993, joined the New Born Party (Shinsei-to),and was appointed Finance Minister in the Morihiro Hosokawa Cabinet. He was then reappointed Finance Minister in 1994 in the Tsutomu Hata Cabinet. In 1994 he left the New Born Party to form the New Frontier Party (NFP). When the NFP dissolved in 1998, with Ichiro Ozawa, Fujii formed the Liberal Party (LP) where he became Secretary General. After the LP's merger with the DPJ in 2003, Fujii was appointed Acting Party President in 2004, and then DPJ "Supreme Advisor" in 2007. Fujii was re-elected in August 2009 for his seventh term in the Lower House. Fujii enjoys watching sports, reading and gardening. He speaks very little English. ¶10. (C) MINISTER OF DEFENSE: Toshimi Kitazawa, 71, is a third-term Upper House member from Nagano Prefecture. First elected to the Upper House in 1992, he was previously the Chairman of the UH Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, although he has more experience and expertise working on land, infrastructure and transportation issues. Kitazawa's appointment as Defense Minister makes sense if the DPJ's goal was to have someone in that position that could be acceptable to the Social Democratic Party. Embassy Tokyo assesses that he probably acknowledges that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the foundation of Japan's foreign policy, although he voted against the Special Measures Agreement part of Host Nation Support in 2008. He opposed the 2009 extension of the Maritime Self Defense Forces refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and also voted against the Ground Self Defense Forces dispatch to Iraq in 2004. As the UH Foreign Policy and Defense Committee Chairman, he led a probe into the bribery scandal involving former Vice Minister of Defense Takemasa Moriya. Kitazawa is a former Liberal Democratic Party member and is center-left on the political spectrum. Kitazawa's father is a former Nagano Prefectural Assembly member, who TOKYO 00002177 004.2 OF 007 used to belong to the Japan Socialist Party but became independent when the JSP disintegrated. Waseda University gradate Kitazawa is a member of the DPJ's Japan-China Economic Exchange and Promotion League. His hobbies include pottery and ceramics, skiing and golf. ¶11. (C) MINISTER OF LAND, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION AND TOURISM (MLIT) and STATE MINISTER FOR OKINAWA AND NORTHERN TERRITORIES, DISASTER MANAGEMENT: Seiji Maehara, 47, is a sixth-term Lower House member from Kyoto's 2nd district. A young, talented, energetic career politician, Maehara has served as the Vice President of the DPJ since 2007 and as President for six months in 2005-2006. Maehara is conservative on foreign and security policy, and his public statements indicate that he will not deviate from Japan's long-standing position that Russia return all four Northern Territories islands. He has advocated for fiscal reform of public works projects, and as MLIT Minister he will work on the DPJ's trademark policy to eliminate highway tolls. He also has advocated for road taxes to be included in the government's general, rather than special, account. He opposes "amakudari" (golden parachutes),an institutionalized practice in which senior Japanese bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in private and public sectors in related fields. He reportedly does not get along well with Ichiro Ozawa. Maehara is a graduate of Kyoto University and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, where he focused on China and China-Taiwan relations. He is married. His hobbies include photographing steam locomotives, eating out, and driving. ¶12. (C) MINISTER FOR ECONOMY, TRADE AND INDUSTRY (METI): Masayuki Naoshima, 64, is a third-term Upper House member and is the Chair of the DPJ Policy Research Committee. As such, he played a key role in promoting the DPJ's election manifesto, notably defending the party's scaled-back pledge to conclude a free trade agreement with the U.S. after receiving criticism from domestic farmers. Originally from Osaka, he was first elected in 1992 and has focused his energies in the Diet on land infrastructure and transport and union issues. He has served on the DPJ House of Councillors Caucus, was Chair of the DPJ Diet Affairs Committee, and was Director of the Rules and Administration and Committee on Finance. Currently, he is a key member of the Committee on Economy and Industry and an advisor to the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions. Within the DPJ, Naoshima shares Hatoyama's conservative stance toward foreign policy. ¶13. (C) Prior to becoming an Upper House member, Naoshima worked for Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of offices focusing on company organization and labor issues. In 1984 he was appointed Secretary General of the Japan Automobile Workers' Unions (JAW),and he became Vice President in 1991. Toyota Motor Corporation contacts say he has a "gentle and warm character," but will be as tough as his predecessors. Media reports have speculated that Naoshima, given his strong labor background, may struggle with pro-business bureaucrats at the Ministry opposed to the DPJ's ambitious carbon emissions reduction targets and pledge to increase the minimum wage. Naoshima is a graduate of the Kobe University Faculty of Business Administration. His hobbies include reading and swimming. ¶14. (C) MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES (MAFF): Hirotaka Akamatsu, 61, is a seventh-term member of the Lower House from Aichi prefecture. He was first elected in 1990, originally as a member of the Socialist Party (SPJ). He was named the SPJ's Secretary General in 1993, and subsequently joined forces with Hatoyama to form the DPJ. The eldest son of a former member of the Lower House, Akamatsu graduated from Waseda University with a degree in political science and worked for Japan's leading transportation/freight company, Nippon Express, before serving three terms in the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. MAFF officials are reportedly surprised by his appointment since he has no prior agriculture experience. ONE mid-ranking MAFF official speculated it may be because PM Hatoyama wants to balance his cabinet with members from both the right and the left of the Japanese political spectrum. A food service industry representative expressed concern that Akamatsu's SPJ background could result in policies unfavorable to importers of agricultural products. Industry observers are similarly TOKYO 00002177 005.2 OF 007 worried about SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima's appointment as Minister in charge of the Food Safety Commission and the Consumer Affairs Agency. Akamatsu is married with two sons. ¶15. (C) MINISTER OF JUSTICE (MOJ): Keiko Chiba, 61, is a four-term Upper House member from Yokohama. She graduated from the Faculty of Law at Chuo University, and, after practicing as a lawyer, was elected for the first time in ¶1986. In 1997 she joined the DPJ. Previous to her appointment as Justice Minister, she was the Chairperson of the DPJ's Administration Committee. In the Diet she was the Senior Member of the Committee on Judicial Affairs, a Member of the Committee on Administration Oversight, and a Member of the Research Committees on an "Aging Society With a Declining Birthrate" and "Toward a Society With a Cooperative Way of Life." ¶16. (C) In contrast to LDP nominees to Ministry of Justice posts, Chiba has been an outspoken advocate of revision of the Nationality Act, local suffrage for permanent foreign residents, and dual nationality. She has also pressed for resolution of the wartime comfort women issue and a revision of the Child Pornography Protection Law. In 2007, she criticized then-Prime Minister Abe for saying that "Children are the treasure of the nation," arguing that this seemed to suggest that children were born to serve Japan. Former Ambassador Schieffer met with Chiba a number of times to encourage Japan to criminalize the simple possession of child pornography. In those meetings, she argued the DPJ position that a simple possession bill would need to be modified to prevent cases of entrapment or accidental downloading. She enjoys watching sports. ¶17. (C) MINISTER OF HEALTH, LABOR AND WELFARE (MHLW) and STATE MINISTER FOR PENSION REFORM: Akira Nagatsuma, 49, is a fourth-term member of the Lower House from Tokyo. He was first elected in 2000 following unsuccessful candidacies in 1995 and 1996. He is the DPJ's acting Policy Chief and has been the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister for State Pensions in the DPJ's shadow cabinet. Nagatsuma gained prominence when he revealed MHLW officials had lost millions of public pension records in 2007, for which he became know as "Mr. Pension." He also grabbed front-page headlines in 2008 when he exposed the widespread practice among elite bureaucrats of using taxpayers' money to take taxis home at night, and accepting drinks, gifts and even cash as kickbacks from drivers looking for repeat fares. The revelations surrounding the "pub taxis" made him a feared figure among bureaucrats. "If the bureaucracy is a horse," Nagatsuma has said, "politicians and the people are riding the horse without holding the reins. We're just sitting on the horse and letting it decide the country's direction." ¶18. (C) Nagatsuma says his policy is to protect the life and property of citizens and improve their quality of life. He is well known for his good debating skills and enthusiasm in pursuing pension reform. He has made several proposals and submitted bills in the Diet on issues including pensions, the emergency preparedness system, and insurance for the elderly. He is a graduate of the Law Faculty of Keio University and has worked at the NEC Corporation and as a journalist for Nikkei writing on finance, government and political matters. His hobbies include movies, karaoke and walking. ¶19. (C) MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS (MIC) and STATE MINISTER FOR DECENTRALIZATION: Kazuhiro Haraguchi, 50, is a fifth-term member of the Lower House representing Saga Prefecture. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party, after an unsuccessful 1993 bid as an independent. Prior to serving in the Diet, he served in the Saga Prefectural Assembly 1987-1993. Within the Diet, Haraguchi was Senior Director on the Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications. There is speculation that Haraguchi's selection as MIC Minister reflects, at least in part, a DPJ desire to keep this cabinet post, overseeing key decentralization issues, within the party (as opposed to handing it over to a coalition partner). In July, Haraguchi was quoted as saying, "We intend to break the ties of obligation and destroy Kasumigaseki itself. In that environment, we will implement decentralization reform and reform giving sovereignty to the regions." TOKYO 00002177 006.2 OF 007 ¶20. (C) Although postal privatization, an area typically handled by MIC, has been separated into a separate portfolio and given to People's New Party (PNP) leader Shizuka Kamei, Haraguchi is close to the PNP and will inevitably have some influence on postal privatization. Shortly after the election, Haraguchi said review of postal privatization is the most important political issue facing the new government. Haraguchi is married, with ONE son and two daughters, and is a frequent and vocal guest on free-wheeling Japanese talk shows. His hobbies include reading, poetry, painting, volleyball, and Japanese chess. ¶21. (C) MINISTER OF EDUCATION, CULTURE, SPORTS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MEXT): Tatsuo Kawabata, 64, is an eighth-term member of the Lower House from Shiga prefecture. First elected in 1986 as a member of the former Democratic Socialist Party, he switched to the New Frontier Party in 1994, and then to the Democratic Party of Japan in 1998. Kawabata earned an M.S. at Kyoto University's Institute of Engineering Research and worked at the engineering laboratory of Toray Engineering. He developed an interest in politics while head of the local labor union at Toray Engineering. Within the DPJ he served as Secretary General in 2004 and Vice President in 2006. He also served as Chairman of the Special Committee for Disaster Response in the Lower House. His hobbies include reading and computers. ¶22. (C) MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT: Sakihito Ozawa, 55, is a fourth-term member of the Lower House from Yamanashi Prefecture. He was first elected in 1993 as a member of the Japan New Party and joined the Democratic Party of Japan in ¶1996. Ozawa earned an undergraduate degree in law from Tokyo University and a MA in Political Science from Saitama University. He worked at the Bank of Tokyo before becoming an LDP policy staff member for economic affairs. He is chairman of the DPJ's National Rallying and Canvassing Committee. He also served as chairman of the Lower House Committee on Environment in 2004. He drafted and worked for passage of several laws to protect the environment and prevent pollution. Ozawa is considered a Hatoyama loyalist and is ONE of the incoming Prime Minister's "three sidekicks." He is married, with two sons. He enjoys playing baseball, tennis, skiing and swimming in his spare time. He speaks English. ¶23. (C) MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS, POSTAL REFORM: Shizuka Kamei, 72, is an eleven-term member of the Lower House of the Diet from Hiroshima. A graduate of the University of Tokyo, Kamei first worked for the National Police Agency (NPA). He left with a distinguished record and JPY 3.5 million in NPA severance pay, and was elected to the Diet in 1978 with the LDP. In 1989, he formed the Freedom Reform Alliance, criticizing the LDP's system of factions and strongly supporting LDP nationalist Shintaro Ishihara's bid for the party presidency. He became Minister of Transportation in 1994, and Minister of Construction in 1996. In 1998, he left the Mitsuzuka Faction and formed the "Nakayama-Kamei Group" with Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Nakayama. He was appointed Chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council in 1999 and 2000 where he became known as an advocate for a huge fiscal stimulus to help the economy. Also in 1999, he founded the Kamei Faction within the LDP. In 2003, he unsuccessfully ran for Prime Minister against the incumbent, Junichiro Koizumi. ¶24. (C) Opposing Koizumi's postal privatization plan, he left the LDP in 2005, forming the tiny, conservative, People's New Party (PNP) with four other Diet members. Despite facing popular businessman Takafumi Horie in the 2005 election, he won re-election for a tenth time. (Speculation abounds that Kamei sought his revenge on Horie by using his judicial contacts to ensure that Horie received a stiff prison sentence after being implicated in a financial scandal.) From 2005 - 2009, Kamei was Chairman of the Diet Members' League to Abolish the Death Penalty and Chairman of the Lawmakers' Coalition for Beautifying Japan. After his 11th re-election win in August 2009, he succeeded Tamisuke Watanuki, who lost his seat in the election, as PNP President. ¶25. (C) NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION (NPSC) CHAIRMAN and STATE MINISTER FOR ABDUCTION ISSUE: Hiroshi Nakai, 67, is an TOKYO 00002177 007.2 OF 007 11th-term Lower House member who brings prior Cabinet experience to his new position as head of Japan's police force, having served as Justice Minister during the Hata Administration in 1994. Nakai is well-positioned to manage issues related to the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea: he is a senior member of the Special Committee on North Korean Abductions, Chair of the DPJ Headquarters on the Abduction Issue and an extremely vocal opponent of any improvement in Japan's relations with North Korea absent progress on the abductions issue. (He also harshly criticized the U.S. decision to remove North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.) ¶26. (C) After graduating from the Economics Department of Keio University, Nakai worked as a secretary for his father, a Socialist Party Diet member. Nakai was elected to the Diet for the first time in 1976 as a representative of Mie Prefecture on the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) ticket. He joined several small parties, including Ichiro Ozawa's New Frontier Party and Liberal Party (LP),before joining the DPJ in 2003 through the DPJ-LP merger. He remains close to Ozawa. Nakai currently serves as a senior member of the Japan-South Korea and Japan-Taiwan Parliamentarian Leagues. In 2005, Nakai received commendation for over 25 years of Diet service; as of 2007, his commemorative portrait was hanging in ONE of the Diet committee rooms. Nakai was born on June 10, 1942 in Jilin Province, China. He has a daughter and son. His wife passed away in the late 1990s. Nakai's hobbies include reading, particularly U.S. and European detective novels, and watching sports such as baseball and basketball. His personal motto is "hardship now, pleasure later." ¶27. (C) STATE MINISTER FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD SAFTEY, DECLINING BIRTHRATE AND GENDER EQUALITY: Mizuho Fukushima, 53, is a second-term Upper House member and the chair of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP),a position she has held since 2003. A proportional representative and originally from Miyazaki, she was first elected in 1998. Fukushima has served on the Upper House Health, Labor and Welfare Committee and the Research Committee on Aging Society with a Declining Birthrate and Cooperative Way of Life. She has written extensively and spoken out in favor of gender equality, use of separate surnames by married couples, and abolition of discrimination against illegitimate children, even giving birth to her own daughter without marrying her partner, the father. As head of the SDP, she opposed both the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law (ATSML) and the New ATSML. Fukushima graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law and is registered as a lawyer. Her hobbies include watching films and travel. ¶28. (C) STATE MINISTER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM, PUBLIC SERVANT SYSTEM REFORM: Yoshito Sengoku, 63, is a sixth-term member of the Lower House representing Tokushima. He was first elected in 1990 as a member of the former Socialist Party of Japan and reelected in 1996 as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). He is knowledgeable on a wide range of policies and respected by his subordinates. In the DPJ's shadow cabinet, he served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Health, Welfare and Labor (MHLW). In 2006, he was appointed as the DPJ's Deputy Secretary General. He and party Secretary General Ozawa have a well-known antagonistic relationship. Sengoku is a cancer survivor and takes deep interest in medical issues. He has been acting chairman of the Diet members' Alliance to Overcome the Medical Crisis since 2008. He obtained a license to practice law despite dropping out of the University of Tokyo and worked as a lawyer for nine years before becoming a Diet member. His hobbies include cooking, tennis and reading. ROOS