is a Japanese politician and current member of 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, ...

. He and fellow councillor

Eiko Kimura is a Japanese politician and current member of the House of Councillors. She and fellow councillor Yasuhiko Funago became the first people with severe disabilities elected to Japan's National Diet in 2019. She currently serves on the Land and Tra ...

became the first people with severe disabilities elected to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

in 2019. He is a member of the

Reiwa Shinsengumi is a left-wing populist and progressive political party in Japan founded by actor-turned-politician Tarō Yamamoto in April 2019. The party was formed by left-wing members of the Liberal Party who opposed its merger with the Democratic Party fo ...

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

has caused him to lose much of his mobility, requiring a full-time

caregiver A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...

Early life

Funago was born in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture. He moved to Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture when he was 10 years old and attended Chiba Minami Prefectural High School. After graduating high school, he studied under the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at

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).

. Although he originally wanted to become a professional musician, Funago became an employee of Sakata Watch Trading Co., Ltd. after graduating university in 1982. A few years later, at the age of 28, he married.

References

External links

* 1957 births Living people Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Japanese politicians with disabilities People with motor neuron disease 21st-century Japanese politicians Politicians from Gifu Prefecture {{Japan-politician-1950s-stub