is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * 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 ...

, a 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, ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature) and is the former

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

. A native of

Komatsu, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,509 in 42,664 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Komatsu is located in southwes ...

and graduate of

Mie University Mie University (三重大学; ''Mie Daigaku'', abbreviated to 三重大 ''Miedai'') is a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan. As with other national universities, Mie University has been a National University Corporation since Apr ...

, he worked at the

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries may refer to: * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Cambodia) * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan) * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Niue) * Depar ...

from 1965 to 1990, and had served in the assembly of

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

for two terms since 1991. He was elected to 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 the first time in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party by proportional representation – he failed to win the

Ishikawa 2nd district Ishikawa 2nd district (石川 ��第区, ''Ishikawa- en-dai-i-ku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the national Diet of Japan. It is located in Southern Ishikawa and covers the cities of Komatsu, ...

from Liberal Democrat

Yoshirō Mori is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan between April 2000 and April 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his ...

four times in a row. After losing also his proportional seat in 2005, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007. In 2011, 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 ...

's cabinet, he was selected as

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

In December 2011 he was the subject of a

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

motion from the opposition LDP for failing to know the details of the 1995 rape where three US servicemen kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl. This followed his subordinate Satoshi Tanaka speaking with reporters in a bar and using euphemisms for sexual assault to discuss moving the US Futenma airbase. Tanaka was sacked as director of the Okinawa Defense Bureau, and in the cabinet reshuffle of January 13, 2012 Ichikawa was replaced by Naoki Tanaka.The Japan Time
New Noda Cabinet on tax push January 14, 2012
Retrieved on August 16, 2012

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* in Japanese. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Yasuo 1942 births Democratic Party of Japan politicians Living people Japanese defense ministers Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) New Frontier Party (Japan) politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians Politicians from Ishikawa Prefecture 21st-century Japanese politicians