Democratic Party of Japan
The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
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* 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 ...
Toshima, Tokyo
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, a ...
and dropout of
Saitama University
Saitama University (埼玉大学, ''Saitama Daigaku'') is a Japanese national university located in a suburban area of Sakura-ku, Saitama City, capital of Saitama Prefecture in Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
Founded in 1873, it became a national unive ...
, he had served in the city assembly of Kawagoe, Saitama for four terms since 1979 and then in the assembly of
Saitama Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
for two terms since 1995, both from Democratic Socialist Party. In 2001, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time.