is a Japanese politician who was Director General of the Japan Defense Agency (now

Japan Ministry of Defense The is an executive department of the Government of Japan responsible for preserving the peace and independence of Japan, and maintaining the country’s national security and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The ministry is headed by the Mini ...

) in the first cabinet of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Junichiro Koizumi in 2001-2002 and was appointed as the Minister of Defense by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014. Nakatani was born in

Kōchi Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...

and attended the

National Defense Academy of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He served for four years as a commissioned officer in the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

(20th Infantry Regiment and Airborne Training Unit). He first ran for elected office as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the 1990 general election and won one of five seats representing

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

, and held this seat in the 1993 general election. Following electoral reform in 1994 that divided Kōchi into three single-member districts, he successfully contested the Kōchi 2nd district in the

1996 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1996. * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1996 Beninese presidential election * 1996 Comorian presidential election * 1996 New Zealand general election * 1996 Nicaraguan general election ...

and held this seat until the 2014 general election, when he switched to the

Kōchi 1st district Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...

; the abolishment of the Kōchi 3rd district required the Liberal Democratic Party's Kōchi members to switch seats so that they could all remain in office. Yuji Yamamoto, who had held the 3rd district since 1996, switched to the 2nd district. Meanwhile

Teru Fukui is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Overviews A native of Osaka, Osaka and graduate of the University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, ...

, who had held the 1st district since 1996, switched to the Shikoku proportional representation block. Nakatani supported

Koichi Kato Kōichi Katō is the name of two House of Representatives of Japan's members: *Koichi Kato (LDP) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who held a seat in the House of Representatives in the National Diet for 13 terms betwe ...

and

Taku Yamasaki is a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2009. He directed the Director General of the Japan Defense Agency for two months in 1989, and served as Minister of Construction from 1991 ...

's no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in 2000, and was appointed to head the Japan Defense Agency under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the following year.

Notes

References

1957 births Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel Japanese defense ministers Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) National Defense Academy of Japan alumni 21st-century Japanese politicians People from Kōchi, Kōchi {{japan-politician-1950s-stub