Toshimitsu Motegi

Toshimitsu Motegi
茂木 敏充
Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry
In office 26 December 2012 – October 2014
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Yukio Edano
Succeeded by	Koriki Jojima
Personal details
Born	(1955-10-07) 7 October 1955 Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Tokyo Harvard University
Website	Official website

Toshimitsu Motegi (茂木 敏充, Motegi Toshimitsu, born 7 October 1955) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Tsushima Facation, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature), representing Tochigi Prefecture's fifth electoral district.

Early life and education

A native of Ashikaga, Tochigi, Motegi was born on 7 October 1955.^[1] He attended the University of Tokyo and received a post-graduate Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.^[1]

Career

Motegi worked for trading company Marubeni Corporation, as a political reporter for Yomiuri Shimbun and at the consultancy McKinsey & Co. He was also a visiting professor at Waseda University's graduate school of Global Information and Telecommunication Studies from 2005 to 2010.^[1]

He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 as a member of the Japan New Party. He joined the LDP in 1995.^[2]

Described as an experienced and knowledgeable international businessman, Motegi served in various cabinet positions including vice foreign minister and state minister in charge of Okinawa and the Northern Territories, as well as science and technology policy. On 1 August 2008, Yasuo Fukuda appointed him as state minister in charge of financial services and administrative reforms.^[2] On 26 December 2012, Motegi was named as Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry.^[3]

He has been moved by Abe to LDP headquarters as head of election strategy. ^[4]

Personal life

His hobbies include sports, travel, and reading.^[2]

References