is a Japanese politician belonging to the Nikai Faction of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), serving his first term in 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 ...

, representing

Gumma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

Early life

Shimizu is from the city of

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

in Gumma Prefecture. He graduated from the

Tokyo University of Agriculture The , abbreviated as Nodai (農大, ''nōdai'') or Tokyo nodai (東京農大, ''Tōkyō nōdai''), is a private university of agriculture in Japan. There are three campuses: Setagaya, Atsugi, and Okhotsk (Abashiri). Outline Tokyo University ...

Second High School, located in Takasaki. He then attended

Meiji Gakuin University is a Christian university in Tokyo and Yokohama that was established in 1863. The Reverend Dr. James Curtis Hepburn was one of its founders and served as the first president. The novelist and poet Shimazaki Toson graduated from this coll ...

in Tokyo. After graduating with a degree in economics, he worked in a number of social welfare service corporations, first as a trustee or councillor, then as a director, before beginning his political career.

Political career

In 2008, at the age of 28, he ran for office as a member of the Takasaki city council, serving 2 consecutive terms (2003–2011). He then was elected as a prefectural assembly member for 2 consecutive terms (2011–2019). In the 25th regular election of members of the House of Councillors held on 21 July 2019, he defeated Atsuko Saito, a candidate of the

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The (CDP or CDPJ) is a social-liberal political party in Japan. It was founded in October 2017 as a split from the Democratic Party ahead of the 2017 general election. In late 2020, the party was re-founded following a merger with majori ...

, and other opposition party candidates, to become a member of the House of Councillors. After winning the election, be joined the Nikai faction, a faction within the LDP led by Toshihiro Nikai.

Political views

* Favors amending the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan ( Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitutio ...

. * Criticizes

Abenomics refers to the economic policies implemented by the Government of Japan led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since the December 2012 general election. They are named after Shinzō Abe, who served a second stint as Prime Minister of Japa ...

. * Favored the October 2019 increase in

consumption tax A consumption tax is a tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value-added tax. However, a consumpti ...

to 10%. * Has stated that the government's response to the problem of falsifying public documents relating to the Moritomo Gakuen scandals has been inadequate.

Affiliations

Shimizu is a member of the Conference to Japan's Dignity and National Interest (Nihon no Songen to Kokueki o Mamoru Kai).

References

Sources

This article is largely translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article.

External links

Official Website of Masato Shimizu
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimizu, Masato 1975 births Living people People from Takasaki, Gunma Meiji Gakuin University alumni Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Tokyo University of Agriculture alumni