Shinji Tarutoko

Shinji Tarutoko
樽床 伸二
Official portrait, 2012
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
In office
1 October 2012 – 26 December 2012
Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda
Preceded byTatsuo Kawabata
Succeeded byYoshitaka Shindō
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
22 October 2017 – 28 January 2019
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded bySumio Mabuchi
ConstituencyKinki PR
In office
31 August 2009 – 16 November 2012
Preceded byTomokatsu Kitagawa
Succeeded byTomokatsu Kitagawa
ConstituencyOsaka 12th
In office
19 July 1993 – 8 August 2005
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byTomokatsu Kitagawa
ConstituencyOsaka 7th (1993–1996)
Osaka 12th (1996–2005)
Personal details
Born (1959-08-06) 6 August 1959
Mitoya, Shimane, Japan
Political partyIndependent (1990–1992; 2016–2017; 2018–present)
Other political
affiliations
Alma materOsaka University
WebsiteOfficial website

Shinji Tarutoko (樽床 伸二, Tarutoko Shinji; born 6 August 1959) is a Japanese politician and former member of the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Tarutoko was born in Shimane Prefecture on 6 August 1959. He studied at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.[1]

Career

Tarutoko was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1993 election as a member of the defunct Japan New Party.[1] Then he joined the Democratic Party of Japan in 1998.[1]

In June 2010, he declared his intention to run against Naoto Kan for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan; had he won, he would have become the next Prime Minister of Japan.[2] However, he was defeated on a 291–129 vote.[3] He was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on 1 October 2012.[1]

He lost his seat in the 16 December 2012 general election to Tomokatsu Kitagawa, who he had defeated in the 2009 election.[4] Tarutoko challenged Kitagawa again in 2014, but failed. He became the top candidate on Kibō no Tō's Kinki proportional representation list in 2017 and was elected back to the House.[5]

Tarutoko resigned his seat on 28 January 2019 to contest the Osaka 12th district by-election, which was called after Kitagawa's death.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Profiles of ten new ministers in Noda's Reshuffled Cabinet". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Politics". NHK. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Naoto Kan Wins Leadership Ballot, Becomes Favorite for Prime Minister"[1]
  4. ^ Japan Times Nothing left for the election-gutted DPJ to do but rebuild 18 December 2012
  5. ^ "比例区開票速報:近畿ブロック(定数28)" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  6. ^ "比例東海・近畿 青山氏と馬淵氏、繰り上げ当選に)" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.