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Ryosei Akazawa

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Ryosei Akazawa
赤沢 亮正
Ryōsei Akazawa in 2025
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2024
Prime MinisterShigeru Ishiba
Preceded byYoshitaka Shindō
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 September 2005
Preceded byYoshihiro Kawakami
ConstituencyTottori 2nd
Personal details
Born (1960-12-18) 18 December 1960 (age 64)
Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
Cornell University
Website赤沢亮正公式ホームページ

Ryōsei Akazawa (赤沢 亮正, Akazawa Ryōsei; born December 18, 1960) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature), representing the Tottori 2nd district in Tottori Prefecture.

Early life

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Akazawa was born into a former samurai family. His great-grandfather, Kohei, was a samurai who served the Hachisuka Clan, the Lords of Tokushima, and later became an industrialist. In the 1890s, he moved to what is now Akazawa's constituency to build a railway line. Akazawa's grandfather, Masamichi Akazawa, studied at the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and served as a parliamentarian for over two decades. He held the position of Minister for Home Affairs in Hayato Ikeda's cabinet.[1][2]

Akazawa grew up in Bunkyō, Tokyo, and attended the Junior and Senior High School at Komaba. He went on to study law at UTokyo, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. After graduating, Akazawa joined the civil service at the Ministry of Transport. In 1985, he had a life-changing experience when a Boeing 747 crashed with 524 people on board, killing all but four. He was working at the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau at the time, and his team was directly responsible for handling the aftermath of the accident.[3] Another disaster he dealt with at the Ministry was the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. After experiencing these events, Akazawa developed a strong sense that saving lives and managing risk were his primary missions.[4][5]

Akazawa earned an MBA from Cornell University in the United States in 1991.[1]

Political career

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with Donald Trump (at the White House on April 16, 2025)
with Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer (May 1, 2025)

Akazawa was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the 2005 Japanese general election where he was one of the so-called "Koizumi Children" elected amid the popularity of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He was re-elected in the 2009 general election and the 2012 general election, and every election since. As of 2025, he is the current representative of the Tottori 2nd electorate.

Akazawa gained some notoriety in August 2011 after berating Economy Minister Banri Kaieda for twenty minutes on the floor of the Diet over the ministry's handling of the Fukushima disaster, ultimately bringing Kaieda to tears.[6] Kaieda resigned several days later.[7]

In October 2024, he was appointed Minister of Economic Revitalization, Minister in Charge of New Capitalism, Minister in Charge of Wage Improvement, Minister in Charge of Startups, Minister in Charge of All-Generation Social Security Reform, Minister in Charge of Infectious Disease Crisis Management, and Minister in Charge of Preparation for the Establishment of the Disaster Prevention Agency.[8]

Ever since he was first elected, Akazawa has been known as the closest aide to Prime Minister Ishiba, who is elected from the other constituency in Tottori prefecture.[9] Akazawa refers to himself as Premier Ishiba’s left-hand person, explaining on his post on X that calling himself the Prime Minister’s right-hand would feel too arrogant, while aide would sound as though he were the premier’s brain.[10]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b "プロフィール". 赤沢りょうせい公式WEBサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  2. ^ "資料詳細 | とっとりデジタルコレクション". digital-collection.pref.tottori.lg.jp. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  3. ^ "赤沢 亮正 氏 | 山陰中央新報デジタル". 赤沢　亮正 氏 | 山陰中央新報デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  4. ^ "［石破内閣 閣僚の横顔］経済再生 赤沢亮正氏…鳥取選出 石破氏最側近". 読売新聞オンライン (in Japanese). 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  5. ^ "大災害への備え「今の体制はパンクしかけている」 赤沢亮正担当相が語った危機感 「防災省」は実現する？：東京新聞デジタル". 東京新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  6. ^ Koh, Yoree (1 August 2011). "The Tracks of Banri Kaieda's Tears". Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  7. ^ Inajima, Tsuyoshi (5 August 2011). "Japan's Industry Minister Kaieda to Step Down After Nuclear Plant Disaster". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  8. ^ 産経新聞 (2024-10-01). "【動画】石破茂新内閣が正式発足 林官房長官が閣僚名簿 皇居で首相任命式、閣僚認証式". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  9. ^ "首相の最側近20年「（石破氏は）たばこと赤沢はやめられないんだ」：朝日新聞". 朝日新聞 (in Japanese). 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  10. ^ "赤沢経済再生相がきょう訪米、「石破首相の左腕」が関税交渉担う". Bloomberg.com (in Japanese). 2025-04-16. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  11. ^ Decoraties Staatsbezoeken Japan en Republiek Korea Archived 2014-11-04 at the Wayback Machine - website of the Dutch Royal House
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