is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...

and was a 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 ...

and

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, ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature) from 1976 to 1993 and 1998 to 2010 respectively. A native of

Tochio, Niigata was a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1954. As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 23,855 and the density of 116.41 persons per km². The total area was 204.92 km². On January 1, 2 ...

and graduate of

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

, he was elected to the

in the 1976 general election as part of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and re-elected five times before losing his seat in the pivotal 1993 general election. He joined the New Frontier Party in 1997 and then won a seat on the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

proportional representation slate for the

in the 1998 election. He led electoral cooperation talks between the LP and LDP which broke down in March 2000 concurrently with failed merger talks between party presidents Keizo Obuchi and Ichiro Ozawa. The LP subsequently merged with the

and Watanabe retained his House of Councillors seat on the DPJ slate in the 2004 election. He left the DPJ in 2008 to start the Reform Club, which became the

New Renaissance Party The was a minor political party in Japan. History The NRP is the successor to the Reform Club (改革クラブ), founded by Hideo Watanabe and Hiroyuki Arai in August 2008. In April 2010, Yōichi Masuzoe, a former Minister of Health, Labour ...

in April 2010 under the leadership of

Yoichi Masuzoe Yoichi may refer to: *Yōichi, Japanese given name *, district in Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan *, town in Yoichi District *, a Japanese whisky distillery in the town *, train station in Yoichi District * also Yoichi is a masculine Japane ...

. Watanabe retired from politics upon refusing to run in the 2010 House of Councillors election.

References

* 1934 births Living people Politicians from Niigata Prefecture Takushoku University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Democratic Party of Japan politicians New Renaissance Party politicians {{Japan-politician-1930s-stub