Tatsuo Kawabata

Tatsuo Kawabata (川端 達夫, Kawabata Tatsuo, born January 24, 1945) is a former Japanese politician from the Democratic Party. A native of Ōmihachiman, Shiga, he attended Kyoto University and received a master's degree from it. His elder brother is former mayor of Ōmihachiman Gohei Kawabata.

Tatsuo Kawabata
川端 達夫
Official portrait, 2009
Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan
In office 24 December 2014 – 28 September 2017
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Hirotaka Akamatsu
Succeeded by	Hirotaka Akamatsu
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
In office 2 September 2011 – 1 October 2012
Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Preceded by	Yoshihiro Katayama
Succeeded by	Shinji Tarutoko
Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy
In office 7 January 2010 – 17 September 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Naoto Kan
Succeeded by	Banri Kaieda
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In office 16 September 2009 – 17 September 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Ryū Shionoya
Succeeded by	Yoshiaki Takaki
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 15 May 2014 – 28 September 2017
Constituency	Kinki PR
In office 7 July 1986 – 16 November 2012
Constituency	Shiga at-large (1986–1996) Shiga 1st (1996–2005; 2009–2012) Kinki PR (2005–2009)
Personal details
Born	(1945-01-24) 24 January 1945 Gamō, Shiga, Japan
Political party	DPP
Other political affiliations	DSP New Frontier New Fraternity DPJ DP
Alma mater	Kyoto University

Early life

Born in Gamō-gun, Shiga Prefecture (now Ōmihachiman city). He graduated from Shiga Prefectural Hikone East High School, Kyoto University Faculty of Engineering. He joined Toray after completing a master's program at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. Besides being involved in development research, he also worked on the trade union movement.

Political career

Kawabata with UK ambassador David Warren in 2012

Kawabata served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) from 1986 to 2017.

In September 2011 Kawabata was appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications in the cabinet of newly appointed prime minister Yoshihiko Noda. He was relieved from the post on 1 October 2012. In September 2017, Kawabata announced that he would not run in the 2017 general election and would retire from politics.

References

• 政治家情報 〜川端 達夫〜. ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). JANJAN. Retrieved 2007-10-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)

External links

• Official website in Japanese.