Toshimitsu Motegi

Toshimitsu Motegi
Toshimitsu Motegi
茂木敏充
	Motegi in 2020
Minister for Foreign Affairs
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 11 September 2019
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe; Yoshihide Suga
Preceded by	Tarō Kōno
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
	In office; 26 December 2012 – 3 September 2014
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Yukio Edano
Succeeded by	Yuko Obuchi
Member of the House of Representatives
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 19 July 1993
Constituency	Tochigi 1st District
Personal details
Born	7 October 1955 (age 65); Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Tokyo; Harvard University
Website	Official website

Toshimitsu Motegi (茂木敏充, Motegi Toshimitsu, born 7 October 1955) is a Japanese politician serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs since 11 September, 2019. He previously served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2012 to 2014. He is also a member of the House of Representatives since 1993.

Early life and education[]

A native of Ashikaga, Tochigi, Motegi was born on 7 October 1955.^[1] He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1978 and worked for the trading company Marubeni Corporation until 1980. He then went to study in Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and received a post-graduate Master of Public Policy degree in 1983.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Career[]

He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the 1993 general election as a member of the Japan New Party, representing the Tochigi 5th district. He changed his political affiliation to the Liberal Democratic Party in 1995.^[4]

He was appointed Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs in October 2002 under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi then promoted him to Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Science and Technology Policy, and Information Technology in September 2003, and on 1 August 2008, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda appointed him as State Minister in Charge of Financial Services and Administrative Reform.

Abe Government[]

Following the LDP's victory in the 2012 general election, resulting in Shinzo Abe's election as prime minister, Motegi was named Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry.

He left the Cabinet in September 2014 to serve as Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Election Committee. He was appointed Chairman of the LDP Policy Council in August 2016.^[2]

Motegi was appointed Minister for Economic Revitalization and State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy in 2017.^[2] As minister, he was sent as a special envoy to sign the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in Santiago, Chile.^[5] In August 2019, Motegi led negotiations with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to finalize a new trade pact between Japan and the United States.^[6] Nikkei dubbed Motegi "Japan's 'Trump whisperer'" in recognition of his role in negotiating with US President Donald Trump and his administration.^[7]

Abe appointed Motegi as foreign minister in September 2019 in recognition of this success.^[8]

In 2018, Motegi was revealed to have possibly breached Japan's electoral laws. He was accused of making illegal donations of incense sticks to his constituents through his personal secretary. Opposition parties called for his resignation.^[9] He was active in gathering support for Abe's re-election as president of the Liberal Democratic Party that year.^[8]

Suga Government[]

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga retained Motegi as foreign minister after taking office in September 2020. As Suga was known to be weak in foreign affairs, this gave Motegi an opportunity to build his reputation and brand, while maintaining the foreign policy initiatives from the Abe government.^[10]

In October 2020, Motegi met with U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss to sign a bilateral economic partnership agreement estimated to raise British exports to Japan by 17.2% (¥355 billion) and Japanese exports to Britain by 79.9% (¥1.775 trillion). In the trade package, British import tariffs are expected to reduce by up to 60% for Kobe beef, 31% for the Japanese chocolate snack Pocky, 22% for bluefin tuna, 13% for udon noodles, and 6% for soy sauce.^[11]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Abe Cabinet". The Japan Times. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Toshimitsu MOTEGI". Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ "Profile of Minister for Foreign Affairs MOTEGI Toshimitsu". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", 3 August 2008.
^ "Signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
^ "Japan and U.S. approaching 'final stage' of trade talks, says negotiator Toshimitsu Motegi". The Japan Times. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^ Kato, Masaya (9 December 2019). "Japan's 'Trump whisperer' emerges as potential Abe successor". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Shimada, Gaku (7 September 2019). "Abe to pick trade point man Motegi as Japan's top diplomat". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ Reynolds, Isabel; Nobuhiro, Emi (2 February 2018). "Incense Sticks Come Back to Burn Japan's Economy Minister". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ Bosack, Michael MacArthur (16 September 2020). "Breaking down Suga's picks for his first Cabinet". The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ "Trade pact with Japan to cut British tariff on Pocky snack by 31%". The Japan Times. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

Political offices
Preceded by Yukio Edano	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry 2012–2014	Succeeded by Yuko Obuchi
Preceded by Tarō Kōno	Minister of Foreign Affairs 2019–present	Incumbent