Hirotaka Akamatsu (赤松 広隆, Akamatsu Hirotaka, born May 3, 1948) is a Japanese politician from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, a former minister and Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan.

Hirotaka Akamatsu
赤松 広隆
Official portrait, 2009
Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan
In office
1 November 2017 – 14 October 2021
SpeakerTadamori Oshima
Preceded byTatsuo Kawabata
Succeeded byBanri Kaieda
In office
26 December 2012 – 21 November 2014
SpeakerBunmei Ibuki
Preceded bySeishirō Etō
Succeeded byTatsuo Kawabata
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office
16 September 2009 – 8 June 2010
Prime MinisterYukio Hatoyama
Preceded byShigeru Ishiba
Succeeded byMasahiko Yamada
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
18 February 1990 – 14 October 2021
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byKenji Kanda
ConstituencyAichi 6th (1990–1996)
Aichi 5th (1996–2005, 2009–2012, 2014–2021)
Tōkai PR (2005–2009, 2012–2014)
Member of the Aichi Prefectural Assembly
In office
30 April 1979 – 26 January 1990
ConstituencyNagoya City Nakamura Ward
Personal details
Born (1948-05-03) 3 May 1948 (age 76)
Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Political partyCDP (2017–present)
Other political
affiliations
JSP (1966–1996)
SDP (1996)
DP 1996 (1996–1998)
DPJ (1998–2016)
DP 2016 (2016–2017)
Alma materWaseda University
Websitego-akamatsu.com

Life and career

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Akamatsu with James P. Zumwalt in 2010

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 was the Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2012 and 2014 and again between 2017 and 2021.

References

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  1. ^ "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.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
2009–2010
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the DPJ Diet Affairs Committee
2000–2001
Succeeded by
New political party Chairman of the DPJ Diet Affairs Committee
1996–1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary-General of the Japan Socialist Party
1993
Succeeded by
House of Representatives (Japan)
Preceded by Representative for Aichi's 5th district
2014–2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by
-
Representative for the Tōkai proportional representation block
2012–2014
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by Representative for Aichi's 5th district
2009–2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by
-
Representative for the Tōkai proportional representation block
2005–2009
Succeeded by
-
New district Representative for Aichi's 5th district
1996–2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by Representative for Aichi's 6th district (multi-member)
1990–1996
Served alongside: Kōshirō Ishida, Tadao Ōtani, Takeshi Kataoka, Saburō Tsukamoto
District eliminated