28 Facts About Minoru Kiuchi

Minoru Kiuchi is a Japanese politician and former Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who has served as Minister of State for Economic Security since 2024.

Minoru Kiuchi has served as state minister for foreign affairs and state minister for the environment.

Minoru Kiuchi was a member of the Moriyama Faction until its dissolution in January 2024.

Minoru Kiuchi grew up as the son of Japanese police officer and later Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Yasumitsu Kiuchi.

Minoru Kiuchi attended Gotenschule elementary school in Bad Godesberg, where he took classes in German exclusively.

In 1989, Minoru Kiuchi entered the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by which, in 1990, he was sent to the University of Augsburg, where he studied political science and worked on further improving his German.

Between 1996 and 2000 Minoru Kiuchi served as the official German-Japanese interpreter of Emperor Akihito, as well as prime ministers Ryutaro Hashimoto and Keizo Obuchi.

In November 2002, exactly one year ahead of the regular general elections of November 2003, Minoru Kiuchi resigned from his post at the foreign ministry to pursue a career in national politics.

Once a member of the lower house, Minoru Kiuchi joined the LDP.

Minoru Kiuchi was appointed to a visiting professor at Takushoku University following years.

Minoru Kiuchi is one of just a few Japanese politicians with a track record as a successful nonpartisan candidate.

Between 2015 and 2018, Minoru Kiuchi served in the executive of various parliamentary committees and internal LDP commissions, including the Parliamentary Committee on North Korean Abductions and Other Issues, the LDP International Bureau, the LDP Economy, Trade and Industry Division, and the LDP Information Research Bureau.

Under the Fourth Abe Cabinet, Minoru Kiuchi served as the state minister for the environment from October 2018 until September 2019.

On his official website Minoru Kiuchi describes his political positions as follows:.

Minoru Kiuchi decries the increasing class divide in Japan, which he alleges was brought about by market fundamentalism and the undue dominance of large businesses at the expense of small- and medium-sized businesses.

Minoru Kiuchi blames this imbalance on overly close ties between the corporate and the political world and vows to remedy the situation by separating the spaces within which small and large businesses are meant to thrive.

Minoru Kiuchi criticizes biofuel for further decreasing Japan's food self-sufficiency.

Minoru Kiuchi acknowledges the new challenges posed by globalization but asserts that, before Japanese children can become "citizens of the world," they must first receive a thorough education in the Japanese language and Japanese history.

Minoru Kiuchi describes the region of East Asia as being key to the achievement of world peace.

Minoru Kiuchi calls for Japan to become a country that shows presence and does not shy away from responsibility on the global stage.

Minoru Kiuchi praises Japan's social security and health care institutions, which, he says, offer support to the weaker members of society and make advanced medical treatment available to everyone.

Minoru Kiuchi warns against the indiscriminate Americanization of Japanese institutions.

Minoru Kiuchi spent part of his childhood in Bonn, Germany, studied in Augsburg, Germany, and has been posted as diplomat at the Japanese embassy in Bonn, Germany.

Minoru Kiuchi is the general-secretary of the German-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Group.

One month later, in October 2005, Minoru Kiuchi left the LDP.

Minoru Kiuchi was visiting Europe in his capacity as parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs when the In Amenas hostage crisis erupted.

Minoru Kiuchi arrived on site on January 17,2013, one day after the attack had begun.

Minoru Kiuchi negotiated directly with, inter alia, prime minister Sellal and foreign minister Medelci, spear-heading the common demand by eight of the affected nations, including Britain and France, that information be released expeditiously.