is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 2021 to October 2024. He sits in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Background and career

A native of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and graduate of

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

, Suzuki and his wife belong to political dynasties: former Prime Ministers Zenkō Suzuki and

Tarō Asō is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving De ...

are respectively his father and his brother-in-law; his wife Chikako is related to Heikichi Ogawa and Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. Suzuki was elected for the first time in 1990. He served as Minister of the Environment from 2002 to 2003 under

Jun'ichirō Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 200 ...

. Suzuki has been appointed Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games twice.

Other activities

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) *

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

(IDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2021)

Political positions

Suzuki is affiliated to the openly revisionist lobby

Nippon Kaigi is Japan's largest ultraconservative and ultranationalist far-right non-governmental organisation and lobbying group. It was established in 1997 and has approximately 38,000 to 40,000 members as of 2020. The group has significant influence i ...

, and is a member of the Shikōkai faction of the LDP. He gave the following answers to the questionnaire submitted by

Mainichi The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

to parliamentarians in 2012:senkyo.mainichi.jp/46shu/kaihyo_area_meikan.html?mid=A03002001001 Mainichi 2012
senkyo.mainichi.jp; accessed 18 June 2015. *in favor of the revision of the Constitution *in favor of the right of collective self-defense (revision of Article 9) *against the reform of the national legislature (unicameral instead of bicameral) *in favor of reactivating

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...

*against the goal of zero nuclear power by 2030s *in favor of the

relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma Over the last five decades there have been various plans for the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (海兵隊普天間航空基地, ''Kaiheitai Futenma Kōkū Kichi'' ), a United States Marine Corps base located within the urban ar ...

(Okinawa) *in favor of evaluating the purchase of Senkaku Islands by the Government *in favor of a strong attitude versus China *against the participation of Japan to the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietn ...

*against a nuclear-armed Japan *against the reform of the Imperial Household that would allow women to retain their Imperial status even after marriage

Scandals

* Office expenses in excess of 30 million yen each year: The fund management organization "Seirinkai", of which Suzuki is the representative, had recorded office expenses exceeding 30 million yen every year, but in 2007, it suddenly revised the office expenses for each year to around 7.5 million yen. As to the reason, he explained, "I don't know because the person in charge (accounting manager) has changed.

* 14.12 million yen in gasoline expenses over three years: The aforementioned Seiruzukai's political fund balance reports showed a total of 14.12 million yen in gasoline expenses between 2013 and 2015; in one case in January 2015, a single payment amounted to 1.74 million yen. Suzuki's office explained that "seven cars run 250 to 300 kilometers a day," but this gasoline cost is calculated to be equivalent to "33.8 times around the earth," which some consider too hig

* 16.58 million yen in collections over three years: In the aforementioned "Seirin-kai" political fund balance reports, a total of 16.58 million yen in "difficulties in collecting receipts, etc." was recorded from 2013 to 2015, all of which did not have receipts. When we interviewed several payment recipients, their response was that there were no cases where receipts were not issue

* Opposition to the indoor smoking ban in his position as Minister of the Olympics: Suzuki has long been opposed to an indoor smoking ban, and immediately after his appointment as Minister of the Olympics in August 2017, he repeated statements such as, "Smoking should not be a principle, but should be achieved through thorough separation of smoking.

He also said that he was opposed to a smoking ban indoors. Since this was contrary to the policies of the IOC and WHO, which promote a tobacco-free Olympics, the fact that he made the statement in his capacity as Minister of the Olympics was viewed as problematic. When questioned by the press about his consistency, he effectively retracted his statement, saying that it was "an introduction to past discussions within the Liberal Democratic Party."

Personal life

is Suzuki's brother-in-law.

References

External links