Hirotaka Akamatsu
Hirotaka Akamatsu (赤松 広隆, Akamatsu Hirotaka, born May 3, 1948) is a Japanese politician from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and served as the Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan from 2017 to 2021.
Hirotaka Akamatsu | |
|---|---|
赤松 広隆 | |
 | |
| Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan | |
| In office 1 November 2017 – 14 October 2021 | |
| Speaker | Tadamori Oshima |
| Preceded by | Tatsuo Kawabata |
| Succeeded by | Banri Kaieda |
| In office 26 December 2012 – 21 November 2014 | |
| Speaker | Bunmei Ibuki |
| Preceded by | Seishirō Etō |
| Succeeded by | Tatsuo Kawabata |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | |
| In office 16 September 2009 – 8 June 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Yukio Hatoyama |
| Preceded by | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Succeeded by | Masahiko Yamada |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 18 February 1990 | |
| Constituency | Aichi-5th (1996–2005, 2009–2012, 2014–present) Tōkai PR (2005–2009, 2012–2014) Aichi-6th (1990–1996) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 May 1948 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan |
| Political party | CDP |
| Other political affiliations | DP (2016–2017, split) DPJ (1996–2016, merger) SDP (Jan–Sep 1996) JSP (1966–1996, name change) |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
| Website | go-akamatsu |
Life and career
A native of Nagoya and graduate of Waseda University, he was elected to the first of his three terms in the Aichi Prefectural Assembly and then to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1990 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party.
He was appointed Minister of Agriculture in 2009. In April 2010, he skipped the traditional visit by legislators to Ise Jingu, opting instead to take a holiday in Mexico with his wife. While he was on vacation, Japan suffered a large outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. His response to the outbreak was widely criticized and the Ministry of Agriculture apologized on his behalf on May 31.[1] The Hatoyama government collapsed in June and Akamatsu was not reappointed.
Akamatsu is the current Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was also previously Vice Speaker between 2012 and 2014.
References
- "農相が口蹄疫問題で謝罪 対応の検証方針を表明 - 47News（よんななニュース）". Archived from the original on 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- 政治家情報 〜赤松 広隆〜. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). JANJAN. Retrieved 2007-10-16.