Ken Saitō

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Ken Saitō
齋藤 健
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Assumed office
14 December 2023
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byYasutoshi Nishimura
Minister of Justice
In office
11 November 2022 – 13 September 2023
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byYasuhiro Hanashi
Succeeded byRyuji Koizumi
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office
3 August 2017 – 2 October 2018
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Preceded byYūji Yamamoto
Succeeded byTakamori Yoshikawa
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 August 2009
ConstituencySouthern Kanto PR
(2009-2012)
Chiba 7th
(2012-present)
Personal details
Born
齋藤 健 (Saitō Ken)

(1959-06-14) 14 June 1959 (age 64)
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
Harvard University (MBA)

Ken Saitō (齋藤 健, Saitō Ken, born 14 June 1959) is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party who has been the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry since December 2023. Also serving in the Japanese House of Representatives, Saito served as the Minister of Justice from November 2022 to September 2023 and was the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from August 2017 to October 2018.

Career[edit]

Saito has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2009.[1] Saito is a member of the Ishiba faction, led by Shigeru Ishiba, which was critical of the Abe administration.[2] In his position as agriculture minister, he continued to keep a tariff hike on foreign beef.[3] On 6 June 2023, the CDP submitted a censure motion against Saito, who was justice minister, in a bid to delay an immigration bill that sought to overhaul the asylum process.[4]

As industry minister, Saito oversaw the expansion of Japan's semiconductor industry, through government subsidies to companies.[5] On 10 April 2024, Saito was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ken Saito (The Cabinet) | Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet". japan.kantei.go.jp. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. ^ Bosack, Michael MacArthur (5 August 2017). "Abe's Cabinet Reshuffle, Explained". The Diplomat.
  3. ^ "New farm minister not interested in rethink of U.S. beef import curbs". The Japan Times. 9 August 2017.
  4. ^ Ninivaggi, Gabriele (6 June 2023). "CDP submits censure motion in bid to delay immigration bill". The Japan Times. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  5. ^ Author, No (4 March 2024). "Japan in the midst of a semiconductor plant construction rush". The Japan Times. Retrieved 29 April 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ White House Releases State Dinner Guest List White House, press release of 10 April 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Justice
2022–2023
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
2023–present
Succeeded by
Incumbent