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