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 ...

who served in 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 ...

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) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was born in

Tokyo Prefecture Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

as Yuji Shima and adopted his mother's family name at age 3, becoming Yuji Ueno. He attended the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

and passed the bar exam while still in college. In 1953, he joined the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

. During this time he attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as a part of the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. He worked in the Japanese Embassy in Paris from 1963 to 1967. While stationed in Paris, he adopted the Tsushima family name upon his marriage to Sonoko Tsushima, the daughter of writer

Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author. A number of his most popular works, such as '' The Setting Sun'' (''Shayō'') and ''No Longer Human'' (''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shiki ...

(Shuji Tsushima) and niece of politician Bunji Tsushima. Leaving the ministry in 1974, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1976, representing Aomori Prefecture. He served as the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in 1990 and 2000. He was elected to head the LDP faction of former Prime Minister

Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politic ...

in 2005 following Hashimoto's resignation amid a 100 million yen political funds scandal. On July 19, 2009, after 33 consecutive years in office, Tsushima announced that he had no plan to run in the following election. His seat was taken over by opposition candidate

Hokuto Yokoyama is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Tokyo, he attended Chuo University as an undergraduate and received his Ph.D in political science ...

in the 2009 general election. He registered as an attorney in 2005 (while still in office), joining the Tokyo law firm of Tanabe & Partners, and remained a partner at the firm following his resignation. In March 2010 he was appointed as a special advisor to

Shinsei Bank is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo. History SBI Shinsei ...

Family

Tsushima was the fourth of five Diet members in his family. His son Jun Tsushima is currently a member of the House of Representatives, having won the

Aomori 1st district Aomori 1st district (青森県第1区, ''Aomori-ken dai-ikku'' or simply 青森1区, ''Aomori-ikku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located in Northern Aomori and covers the c ...

seat previously held by his father in the 2012 general election. Tsushima attributed his family's influence to a decision by Bunji Tsushima to give his land in Aomori to farm laborers. The other family members in the Diet were

Bunji Tsushima Bunji or Bunji-ye may refer to: Places * Bunji-ye Karbasi, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Bunji-ye Maski, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Bunji-ye Saheli Latidan, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Bunji, Pakistan, a town in G ...

, who served in both houses following a stint as Governor of Aomori Prefecture;

Kichirō Tazawa was a Japanese politician. He held different cabinet posts and served as defense minister from 1988 to 1989. Early life Tazawa was born in 1918. He was a native of Inakadate, Aomori Prefecture. Career Tazawa was a member of the Liberal Democ ...

, a member of the House of Representatives from 1960 to 1996 and defense minister in the cabinet of

Zenko Suzuki The Kudara no Konikishi ( ja, 百済王) was a Japanese clan whose founder, Zenkō ( or ), was a son of King Uija, the last king of Baekje, in southwestern Korea. ''Kudara'' was an ''uji'', or clan name, and represented its country of origin, Baek ...

; and Kyoichi Tsushima, a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 who served as a vice-minister in the cabinet of

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 ...

References

Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) University of Tokyo alumni Living people 1930 births Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians {{Japan-politician-1930s-stub