22 Facts About Kozo Yamamoto

Kozo Yamamoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who is a former Ministry of Finance official, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet.

Kozo Yamamoto served as State Minister in charge of: Regional Revitalization; Regulatory Reform; Administrative Reform; City, People, Job-Creation; and Civil Service Reform from 2016 to 2017.

Kozo Yamamoto is known to be one of the main fathers of Abenomics.

Kozo Yamamoto was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 after an unsuccessful run in 1990.

Tatsuo Murayama, Kozo Yamamoto's father in law, was an LDP member of the House of Representatives who served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Health and Welfare.

Kozo Yamamoto was born in the city of Moji, in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Kozo Yamamoto lived in Fukuoka until graduating from Miyako High School in 1967.

Kozo Yamamoto subsequently took various postings within the Ministry of Finance and a visiting researcher position at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs, until 1987 when he took the role of head secretary for then Minister of Finance and future Prime Minister, Kiichi Miyazawa.

Kozo Yamamoto began lecturing at Kyushu International University in 1991.

Kozo Yamamoto initially ran under the LDP in the general election of 1990 in the fourth precinct of Fukuoka, but could barely not secure any of the four allotted lower house seats.

Kozo Yamamoto returned in 1993 to the same precinct for the next general election under the newly formed Japan Renewal Party, and won first place out of the four elected representatives.

In 1994, Kozo Yamamoto joined the New Frontier Party and entered the 1996 race in the newly created 11th precinct of Fukuoka as a PR candidate following the parallel voting system reform, defeating Sekisuke Nakanishi of the Social Democratic Party and Ryota Takeda of the LDP.

Kozo Yamamoto left the New Frontier Party before it disbanded in 1997.

Kozo Yamamoto lost his seat for a brief period of two years after he rejoined the LDP for the election of 2003.

Kozo Yamamoto was appointed Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry under the first Shinzo Abe Cabinet in September 2006.

The general election of 2009 saw both Takeda and Kozo Yamamoto vying for the LDP slot of Fukuoka's 11th precinct.

Kozo Yamamoto ultimately took the PR spot for Kyushu, and even with the political turnaround of the Democratic Party of Japan winning 221 of 300 electoral districts, both Takeda and Kozo Yamamoto won their respective seats.

In 2012, Kozo Yamamoto successfully ran under the LDP in the 10th precinct of Fukuoka.

Kozo Yamamoto continued his electoral success in the same precinct in 2014, and was appointed his ministerships in 2016.

Kozo Yamamoto is a known advocate of reflation policies, and is one of the first to argue for using monetary easing tools to overcome deflation in Japan.

Kozo Yamamoto proposed the consumption tax increase of April 2014 to Abe Shinzo, and advised swift action.

Kozo Yamamoto advocated for basic allowances and various public-works projects for low-income earners through a revised budget that matched the tax increase.