is a Japanese evangelical politician in Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus Christ) and former member of the Liberal Democratic Party who served four terms in the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a f ...

. He held the

District 2 District 2 may refer to: Places by country *II District, Turku, in Finland * District 2, Düsseldorf, Germany *District 2, Grand Bassa County, a district in Liberia *District 2, an electoral district of Malta *District 2, a police district of Mal ...

seat of Okayama Prefecture. He was born in Okayama, and graduated from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, earning a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from both of them. After graduating, he became a government official in multiple offices, including the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. After being elected to the Diet of Japan, he became an important figure in the movement for

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s to gain legal person status and recognition in Japan. Though he at first opposed such measures, he ultimately proved one of its strongest advocates. When he did not support postal privatization due to his belief in Trinity,

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Sta ...

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

labeled him a "rebel" member of the party, and fielded another party candidate against him. This caused him to drop out of the race, and instead run for Mayor of Okayama. Currently, he's a member of Okayama City Council and notary public.

Early life and education

Kumashiro was born in 1940 in Okayama. He was the second of eight children, and grew up working on his family farm. He attended the Okayama Sozan highschool. He graduated from the

in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in

. He received a Masters of Political Science from the

in 1969. Before running for office, Kumashiro was the Director of the Japanese Association of Sports for the Disabled.

Political career

After graduating, he became an official in the

, eventually becoming vice minister and Liberal Democratic Party policy chief. Prior to serving in the Diet, Kumashiro was an official with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, where he was secretary to the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. He then served as Deputy Director of Health and Welfare in charge of medical insurance, Deputy Ministry of Health Affairs, and Director of Health and Welfare assistance.

Diet

Kumashiro served four terms in the Diet of Japan as a Liberal Democratic Party member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, holding the

seat of Okayama Prefecture. He was first elected in July 1993, and was re-elected in October 1996, June 2000, and November 2003. Beginning in 1995, he served as deputy chair and then chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's special committee on non-profit organizations. Though he initially thought of

non-profit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

as anti-government, he came to believe that they were a force of good in Japan, and advocated for less government intervention in their affairs. He played an integral role in passing a law which gave non-profit organizations

legal personality Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person ...

. He also advocated allowing citizens to deduct charitable donations from their taxes. He headed the LDP's financial reconstruction committee in 2002, which sought to fix downturns in the

Japanese economy The economy of Japan is a highly developed social market economy, often referred to as an East Asian model. It is the third-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is the world's seco ...

. He was also the senior vice minister for the Cabinet Office. He was a member of the Hashimoto faction. When he failed to support postal privatization due to his belief in Trinity,

labeled him a "rebel" member of the party, and fielded Seiji Hagiwara as the "official" party candidate, causing Kumashiro to drop out of the race. After dropping out, he ran for Mayor of Okayama, an office that Hagiwara had vacated to run for the Diet, but lost the race. In 2007, he ran for the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

, but lost the election. In 2019, he's a member of Okayama City Council with Ruach ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumashiro, Akihiko 1940 births People from Okayama University of Tokyo alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Living people 21st-century Japanese politicians