is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of 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 ...

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) for Saitama Prefecture 2nd District. 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 ...

, Shindo is known for his committed stance on territorial disputes with neighboring countries of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and his recurring visits to the controversial

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

Early life and education

A native of

Kawaguchi, Saitama is a Cities of Japan, city located in southwestern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 595,011 in 293,582 households and a population density of 9605 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is the G ...

, Shindo was born on 20 January 1958. His mother, Takako Shindō, was a daughter of Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a general of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

best known for having been the commander of the Japanese garrison at the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

. He studied literature at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

and graduated in 1981.

Career

Shindo had worked in the city government of Kawaguchi since 1980 and had served in the assembly of Kawaguchi since 1991. He joined the Liberal Democratic Party and part of the Nukaga faction. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996. In 2002, he was appointed parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs. He lost his seat in 2003 but was re-elected in 2005 from the Saitama Prefecture District 2. Shindo was named as the vice minister of trade in 2006. In the general elections on 16 December 2012, he was again elected from the Saitama Prefecture District 2. He was appointed

minister of internal affairs and communications Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the cabinet of

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe (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 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...

on 26 December 2012. Shindo, while serving as the executive acting chairperson of the LDP Policy Research Council, pressed for a 15 trillion-yen stimulus package to counter the effects of inflation on Japanese households. He was a vocal opponent of calls to end the Bank of Japan's easy money policies, saying that "No country uses monetary policy to manipulate currency rates". Shindo was given 6 ministerial positions in the Second Kishida Cabinet (Second Reshuffle), the most important being Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization. Since entering the cabinet, Shindo has stressed the need for domestic wage growth to drive consumption in order to end Japan's deflationary woes. A top secretary for the late Motegi Faction, Shindo has been caught-up in the 2023-2024 Japanese slush fund scandal, having told reporters that "We've decided to continue discussions while sharing the idea of dissolving the faction and breaking away from money and personnel affairs". Renhō Saitō of the

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan The is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left politics, centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling L ...

accused Shindo of personally engaging in the same practices as the greater Motegi Faction, calling it "the Motegi Faction method." Shindo is head of a kindergarten in his hometown.

Election history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shindo, Yoshitaka 1958 births Government ministers of Japan Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Living people Members of Nippon Kaigi Meiji University alumni People from Kawaguchi, Saitama Ministers of internal affairs of Japan 20th-century Japanese people Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2012–2014 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2014–2017 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2017–2021 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2021–2024 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2024–