Yukio Edano

Yukio Edano
枝野 幸男
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
In office September 12, 2011 – December 26, 2012
Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Preceded by	Yoshio Hachiro
Succeeded by	Toshimitsu Motegi
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office January 4, 2011 – September 2, 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Yoshito Sengoku
Succeeded by	Osamu Fujimura
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
In office January 14, 2011 – September 2, 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Sumio Mabuchi
Succeeded by	Tatsuo Kawabata
Minister of Foreign Affairs Acting
In office March 7, 2011 – March 9, 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Seiji Maehara
Succeeded by	Takeaki Matsumoto
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
In office February 10, 2010 – June 8, 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Yoshito Sengoku
Succeeded by	Renhō
Personal details
Born	(1964-05-31) May 31, 1964 Utsunomiya, Japan
Political party	Democratic Party (1998–present)
Other political affiliations	New Party (1992–1994) New Frontier Party (1994–1998)
Alma mater	Tohoku University
Website	www.edano.gr.jp

Yukio Edano (枝野 幸男, Edano Yukio, born May 31, 1964) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. He served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) cabinet between 2010 and 2012.^[1] He currently serves as Secretary General of the Democratic Party, which replaced the DPJ in 2016.^[2]

Early life and education

Edano was born in Utsunomiya on May 31, 1964. He is named after Japanese liberal political figure Yukio Ozaki, who Edano's father admired. Edano graduated from Tohoku University with a degree in law, and passed the Japanese bar examination at the age of 24.^[3]

Political career

In the 1993 general election, at the age of 29, Edano joined Morihiro Hosokawa's Japan New Party and won a seat in the Saitama 5th district.^[3] He participated in the formation of the Democratic Party of Japan in 1996.

As a legislator, Edano played a role in the government response to the HIV-tainted blood scandal of 1995 and the financial industry reorganization of 1998.^[3]

Edano was appointed as the secretary general of the DPJ in March 2010 when it was the country's ruling party. Katsuya Okada, the former Foreign Minister, subsequently replaced him in September 2010.

Chief Cabinet Secretary

with James Steinberg (January 27, 2011)

In January 2011, Edano became Chief Cabinet Secretary.^[4] In March 2011, he was temporarily appointed as head of the Foreign Ministry.^[5]

In the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, he was the face of the government efforts to combat the aftermath, frequently appearing on television to talk about the problems at the two reactor facilities in Fukushima. Because of the frequency of his appearances, Twitter users concerned with his health were prompted to post messages asking him to get some sleep. The Twitter hashtag "#edano_nero" became popular, from the imperative word for sleep! (寝ろ, nero) in Japanese.^[6][7]

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

As economy minister, Edano approved the introduction of feed-in tariffs on June 18, 2012, whereby a percentage of energy use fees are used to subsidize (a shift to) renewable energy.^[8]

Post-cabinet

Edano left the Cabinet following the DPJ's defeat in the December 2012 general election, but retained his seat representing the Saitama 5th district.

Edano was named secretary general of the DPJ in September 2014. He retained this position in the Democratic Party following the merger of the DPJ with the Japan Innovation Party in March 2016.^[9]

Family

Edano is married and has twin sons.^[3]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yukio Edano.

• Official website (Japanese)