Akira Amari
Native name甘利 明
Office 1Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party
President 1Fumio Kishida
Vice president 1Tarō Asō
Term start 11 October 2021
Term end 14 November 2021
Predecessor 1Toshihiro Nikai
Successor 1Toshimitsu Motegi
Office 2Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization
Prime minister 2Shinzo Abe
Term start 226 December 2012
Term end 228 January 2016
Predecessor 2Seiji Maehara
Successor 2Nobuteru Ishihara
Office 3Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Prime minister 3Shinzo Abe
Yasuo Fukuda
Term start 326 September 2006
Term end 32 August 2008
Predecessor 3Toshihiro Nikai
Successor 3Toshihiro Nikai
Office 4Minister of Labour
Prime minister 4Keizō Obuchi
Term start 430 July 1998
Term end 45 October 1999
Predecessor 4Bunmei Ibuki
Successor 4Takamori Makino
Office 5
Term start 519 December 1983
Term end 59 October 2024
Predecessor 5Tadashi Amari
Successor 5Multi-member district
Birth date27 August 1949 (age 77)
Birth placeAtsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
FatherTadashi Amari
PartyLiberal Democratic
Other partyNLC (1983–1986)
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 former member of the lower house.

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.

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.

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.[2]

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.[3] Like Abe and most members of the Cabinet, he is affiliated to the openly revisionist organization Nippon Kaigi.[4]

In 2016, Amari resigned from his Cabinet post amidst allegations of bribery, and was succeeded by Nobuteru Ishihara.[5]

In late September 2021, newly elected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed Amari to succeed Toshihiro Nikai as the Secretary General of the LDP.[6] 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.[7] Nevertheless, Amari resigned from his position as the party's Secretary General, and Kishida appointed Toshimitsu Motegi to be his replacement.[8]

References

  1. ^ "甘利明 Official Web | Akira Amari". amari-akira.com. Archived 2021-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ [1] [dead link]
  4. ^ "Abe’s reshuffle promotes right-wingers" - Korea Joongang Daily - 2014/09/05 Archived 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Japanese economy minister Akira Amari quits over bribery claims Archived 2018-05-04 at the Wayback Machine"
  6. ^ "Kishida taps ex-economy minister Akira Amari as LDP's No. 2". The Japan Times. 2021-09-30. Archived 2021-10-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  7. ^ 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" (in Japanese). www.nhk.or.jp. Archived 2021-11-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  8. ^ Takenaka, Kiyoshi (2021-11-02). "Japan's foreign minister Motegi to take key ruling party post". Reuters. Archived 2021-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-12-11.