Akira Amari

Japanese politician

甘利明

Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic PartyIn office
1 October 2021 – 4 November 2021PresidentFumio KishidaVice PresidentTarō AsōPreceded byToshihiro NikaiSucceeded byToshimitsu MotegiMinister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Minister in charge of Economic RevitalizationIn office
26 December 2012 – 28 January 2016Prime MinisterShinzo AbePreceded bySeiji MaeharaSucceeded byNobuteru IshiharaMinister of Economy, Trade and IndustryIn office
26 September 2006 – 2 August 2008Prime MinisterShinzo Abe
Yasuo FukudaPreceded byToshihiro NikaiSucceeded byToshihiro NikaiMember of the House of Representatives

Incumbent

Assumed office
19 December 1983ConstituencyKanagawa 3rd district
(1983-1996)
Kanagawa 13th district
(2000-2009, 2012-2021)
Minami Kanto-PR-block
(1996-2000, 2009-2012, 2021-present) Personal detailsBorn (1949-08-27) 27 August 1949 (age 74)
Atsugi, Kanagawa, JapanPolitical partyLiberal Democratic PartyRelativesTadashi Amari [ja](father)Alma materKeio University

Akira Amari (甘利明, Amari Akira, born 27 August 1949) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a member of the lower house representing the Minami Kanto Bloc.

Personal life

Amari is a native of Atsugi, Kanagawa, where he attended Kanagawa Prefectural Atsugi High School. He graduated from Keio University in 1972 with a degree in political science.^[1] After spending two years working at Sony, he left to work as a secretary for his father, Tadashi Amari, who at the time represented Kanagawa's 3rd district in the House of Representatives. He is a follower of Tenrikyo, joining the likes of fellow LDP representatives Hakuo Yanagisawa, Fumio Kyuma, Sanae Takaichi, Bunmei Ibuki, and Jinen Nagase.^[2]

Career

He is a member of the Japan–Korea Parliamentarians' Union and the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union.

He was the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2006 to 2008. He also served as Minister of State in charge of Administrative Reform in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Tarō Asō.

In the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008, Amari was appointed as Minister of State in charge of Administrative Reform.^[3]

On December 26, 2012, Amari was appointed to the newly created cabinet-level position of Minister of State for Economic Revitalization in the second Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Amari's responsibilities within the Abe government also include tax and social security reform.^[4] Like Abe and most members of the Cabinet, he is affiliated to the openly revisionist organization Nippon Kaigi.^[5]

In 2016, Amari resigned from his Cabinet post amidst allegations of bribery, and was succeeded by Nobuteru Ishihara.^[6]

In late September 2021, newly-elected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed Amari to succeed Toshihiro Nikai as the Secretary General of the LDP.^[7] In an upset, Amari lost his seat representing Kanagawa's 13th district to Constitutional Democratic Party opponent Hideshi Futori during the 2021 Japanese general elections, but retained his seat in the lower house as representative of the Southern Kanto proportional representation block.^[8] Nevertheless, Amari resigned from his position as the party's Secretary General, and Kishida appointed Toshimitsu Motegi to be his replacement.^[9]

References

^ "甘利明 Official Web | Akira Amari". amari-akira.com. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
^ "６閣僚に「９条守れ」天理教平和の会、信者に要請". 9 April 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2" Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 September 2008.
^ [1] ^{[dead link]}
^ "Abe’s reshuffle promotes right-wingers" - Korea Joongang Daily - 2014/09/05
^ "Japanese economy minister Akira Amari quits over bribery claims"
^ "Kishida taps ex-economy minister Akira Amari as LDP's No. 2". The Japan Times. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
^ 日本放送協会. "衆議院選挙2021 神奈川(横浜・川崎など)開票速報・選挙結果小選挙区 NHK". www.nhk.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-11.
^ Takenaka, Kiyoshi (2021-11-02). "Japan's foreign minister Motegi to take key ruling party post". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-11.

External links

Official website (in Japanese)

Political offices
Preceded by Bunmei Ibuki	Minister of Labour 1998–1999	Succeeded by Takamori Makino
Preceded by Toshihiro Nikai	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry 2006–2008	Succeeded by Toshihiro Nikai
Preceded by Kaoru Yosano	Minister of State for Regulatory Reform 2008–2009	Succeeded by Tomomi Inada (2012)
Preceded by Seiji Maehara	Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy 2012–2016	Succeeded by Nobuteru Ishihara
Party political offices
Preceded by Toshimitsu Motegi	Chief of the Public Relations Headquarters, Liberal Democratic Party 2011-2012	Succeeded by Sanae Takaichi
Preceded by Toshimitsu Motegi	Chairman of the Policy Research Council, Liberal Democratic Party 2012	Succeeded by Sanae Takaichi
Preceded by Hiroyuki Hosoda	Chief of the Administrative Reform Promotion Headquarters, Liberal Democratic Party 2017-2018	Succeeded by Yasuhisa Shiozaki
Preceded by Ryu Shionoya	Chairman of the Election Strategy Committee, Liberal Democratic Party 2018-2019	Succeeded by Hakubun Shimomura
Preceded by Yoichi Miyazawa	Chairman of the Tax Research Commission, Liberal Democratic Party 2019-2021	Succeeded by Yoichi Miyazawa
Preceded by Toshihiro Nikai	Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party 2021	Succeeded by Toshimitsu Motegi