Yoichi Miyazawa

Yoichi Miyazawa (宮沢 洋一, Miyazawa Yōichi) was born on April 21, 1950, in Tokyo, Japan. He comes from a prominent family with strong political ties. His father was Hiroshi Miyazawa, who served as an official in the Local Administration Agency, and later became Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, a member of the House of Councillors, and Minister of Justice. His mother was Reiko Miyazawa (née Kishida). Miyazawa is a nephew of Kiichi Miyazawa, a former Prime Minister of Japan, and a cousin of Fumio Kishida, the current Prime Minister of Japan.

In terms of education, Miyazawa studied law at the University of Tokyo. After graduating in 1974, he joined the Ministry of Finance, beginning his career as a government official. During his tenure at the Ministry, he continued his studies in the United States, earning a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University in 1978.

Throughout his career in the Ministry of Finance, Miyazawa held various positions. Notably, in July 1992, he was appointed secretary to his uncle, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. Following Kiichi Miyazawa's resignation as Prime Minister in August 1993, Yoichi Miyazawa left his position as a Ministry official in September 1993 to continue serving as his uncle's secretary.

Miyazawa entered electoral politics in the 2000 general election. He ran as a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate in Hiroshima’s 7th district, succeeding his uncle Kiichi Miyazawa who was shifting to the Chūgoku proportional representation block. He was elected to the House of Representatives and became a member of the Kōchikai faction, which was formerly led by his uncle.

In August 2008, Miyazawa was appointed senior vice minister for the Cabinet Office, serving until September 2009 when the LDP lost power in the general election. He lost his House of Representatives seat in that election but successfully was elected to the House of Councillors in July 2010 via the Hiroshima at-large district.

In October 2014, Miyazawa was appointed Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His appointment followed the resignation of Yuko Obuchi amid a funds scandal. After the cabinet reshuffle in October 2015, Miyazawa left the ministerial post and was appointed Chairman of the LDP Tax Research Commission, a position he held from 2015 to 2019 and again from 2021. In September 2019, he was demoted to a subcommittee chairman when Akira Amari was appointed chairman but returned to the chairmanship when Amari became Secretary General of the LDP in October 2021.

As of November 2024, Miyazawa was elected chairman of the party disciplinary committee. In August 2025, he was elected Chairman of the Committee on Financial Affairs in the House of Councillors.