is a Japanese political activist, full-time staff and former Vice-President of the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He was
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from 1998 to 1999 and again from 2007 to 2008, and he is 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 ...
for
Yamaguchi 1st district. He is also the current Deputy President of his political party the
Liberal Democratic Party.
Early life and education
Kōmura was born in
Ehime Prefecture on 15 March 1942.
He graduated from
Chuo University
, commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...
's faculty of law.
Career
After graduation, Kōmura passed Japan's bar exam and then immediately entered politics. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in the June 1980 election, and has been re-elected in each election since then. He became Director-General of the
Economic Planning Agency
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
(as a Minister of State) in June 1994, Minister for Foreign Affairs in July 1998, and Minister of Justice in December 2000. In August 2007, under Prime Minister
Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
, he became Minister of Defense.
["Profile of Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko KOUMURA"]
Foreign Ministry website. Kōmura leads a small faction of the LDP named after himself and ran for LDP president in 2003, but was defeated by
Junichirō Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...
.
['' Japan Times'', "Fukuda's new linuep", 3 August 2008, P. 3.]
Following Abe's resignation in September 2007, Kōmura became Minister for Foreign Affairs for a second time on 26 September 2007, in the Cabinet of Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda. He remained in that post until he was replaced by
Hirofumi Nakasone in the Cabinet of
Tarō Asō
is a Japanese politician serving as the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. Asō previously served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009 and as Deputy Prime Minister of Japan and Minister of Finance from 2 ...
, appointed on 24 September 2008.
"Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2"
''The Yomiuri Shimbun'', 25 September 2005. He is vice president of the LDP.
Kōmura is also the President of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union. He is known to have strong ties within China's political circles.[
]
Bibliography
Books
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komura, Masahiko
1942 births
Living people
University of Tokyo alumni
Politicians from Ehime Prefecture
Politicians from Yamaguchi Prefecture
Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)
Japanese defense ministers
Foreign ministers of Japan
Ministers of Justice of Japan
Economic planning ministers of Japan
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
21st-century Japanese politicians