is a Japanese politician who serves as the

President of the House of Councillors The is the presiding officer of the House of Councillors of Japan, and together with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President is also the head of the legislative branch of Japan. The President is elected by members of the Ho ...

since August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a member of the House of Councillors since 1989, serving as Vice President of the House of Councillors from 2010 to 2012 and as

Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. Minister Katsunobu K ...

from 2004 to 2005.

Early life and education

He was born in Kaseda City in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

on the island of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

. During the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, his father, Shuichi, was a lieutenant commander in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

and captain of the destroyer ''Yūgiri''. In 1943, he went down with the ship in the

Battle of Cape St. George The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island (now part of the North Solomons Province in Papua New Guinea). It was ...

. Otsuji briefly attended the National Defense Academy but dropped out in 1961 to support his sister after their mother died. He later attended the prestigious University of Tokyo, but again dropped out. From his own account, Otsuji was unhappy with university education. Reflecting on his youth as en elderly politician, he noted the social unrest at the time and protests against the government of Prime Minister Kishi, and said that lectures were rarely held and there was no worthwhile education to be had. Instead, he took the time to travel the world and visited close to 80 countries over a period of five years. In 1971 he returned to Japan and officially withdrew from Tokyo University and returned to Kagoshima.

Political career

Resolving to become a politician, Otsuji was elected to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly in 1979. He was defeated in his run for the House of Representatives in 1986 but was elected to the House of Councillors in 1989. He served as Parliamentary Vice Minister in the Management and Coordination Agency in 1992, Parliamentary Vice Minister in the Okinawa Development Agency in 1994 and Senior Vice Minister of Finance in 2001. In 2004 he was appointed

Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. Minister Katsunobu Ka ...

in the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi, serving as such until 2005. Otsuji was elected Vice President of the House of Councillors following the 2010 House of Councillors election. In December 2012 he resigned to become President of the

Japan War-Bereaved Families Association The is an association in Japan that was set up to represent the interests of relatives of deceased war veterans in the Second World War. Its headquarters are in Kudanminami, Tokyo. The group supports visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to pay res ...

and served as such until 2014. In August 2022, Otsuji was elected

. Otsuji is affiliated to the conservative organization

Nippon Kaigi The Right side up ...

.Nippon Kaigi website Otsuji is also the author of several books, including "Africa Travel Diary" and "Going to Bokemon World." "Bokemon" is a word from the Kagoshima dialect of Japanese meaning "recklessly strong".

References

External links

* in Japanese. * http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumidaijin/040927/07otsuji_e.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20051031043150/http://otsuji.gr.jp/bokke.htm (Japanese) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Otsuji, Hidehisa 1940 births Living people Politicians from Kagoshima Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Members of Nippon Kaigi Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Ministers of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan