was a Japanese politician, who served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of

Sōma District, Fukushima is a district located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 41,540 and a density of 87.18 persons per km2. The total area is 476.49 km2. Towns and villages * Shinchi * Iitate Merger * On J ...

and graduate of Tokai University, he was elected for the first time in 1983. He was Minister of Justice under Prime Minister

Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives (lower house) in the Diet (national legislature). He was named to succeed Naoto K ...

from 1 to 23 October 2012 before resigning due to scandals over financial donations and organized crime links.

As a cabinet minister

On 1 October 2012, Prime Minister

in his third cabinet lineup, appointed Tanaka as Minister of Justice to succeed

Makoto Taki is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as an independent. A native of Ōta, Tokyo and graduate of the University of Tokyo he was elected for the first time in 1996. Career Taki was ap ...

. He also became Minister for the Abduction Issue succeeding

Jin Matsubara is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, Diet (national legislature). He was appointed Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Minister of Stat ...

Taiwanese donations

On 4 October 2012, Tanaka said that a local branch of the DPJ he heads in Kanagawa prefecture had received 420,000 yen in donations from 2006 to 2009 from a company run by Taiwanese. The money was returned on 3 October 2012, two days after he became Minister of Justice. Under the Political Funds Control Act of 1948, politicians are banned from receiving donations from foreign individuals and organizations composed mostly of foreign citizens. The possible punishments are prison terms of up to three years, or fines of up to 500,000 yen. At a 4 October 2012 press conference he said that he was not considering resigning.

Yakuza connections

On 11 October 2012, the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho reported that 30 years ago Tanaka had connections to a group affiliated to the

Inagawa-kai The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 3,100 members. It is based in the Kantō region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas. History The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, Shiz ...

yakuza syndicate, that he had made an appearance and made a speech at a party hosted by a yakuza boss, and that he had also acted as a matchmaker for an executive member of the group. He said that he would not have taken the actions if he had been aware of the yakuza connections. He denied using yakuza to pursue his own interests or to mediate their disputes.

Resignation

The opposition had demanded that he explain his actions to an upper house panel on 18 October 2012. Tanaka's schedule became full and he could not appear. The following day, on 19 October 2012 he entered hospital complaining of ill health. He was checked into Tokai University Tokyo Hospital complaining of chest pains. It was widely expected that he would either tender his resignation or that he would be sacked as a minister. He resigned on 23 October 2012, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by

, who had also been his predecessor in the role.

Personal life and death

Tanaka died on 4 January 2022, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Official website
in Japanese. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Keishu 1938 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Japanese politicians Tokai University alumni Members of the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Ministers of Justice of Japan Noda cabinet Democratic Party of Japan politicians Politicians from Fukushima Prefecture