Katsuya Okada Japanese politician and statesman Date of Birth: 14.07.1953 Country: Japan

1. Biography of Katsuya Okada
2. Family Background
3. Early Life and Education
4. Political Career
5. Minister of Foreign Affairs
6. Personal Life

Biography of Katsuya Okada

Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician and statesman. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and the former chairman and current secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan. Since September 16, 2009, he has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Hatoyama Cabinet.

Family Background

Katsuya Okada is the second son of Takui Okada, who was the founder of the Japanese retail giant AEON Group. His elder brother, Motoya Okada, is the chairman and chief executive officer of AEON Group. He also has a younger brother and a step-sister.

Early Life and Education

Born in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Okada graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in law and joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He also studied at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Political Career

Okada ran for the House of Representatives from Mie Prefecture in the general election of 1990 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and later joined the faction led by Takeshita within the LDP. He subsequently left the faction along with its leaders Tsutomu Hata and Ichiro Ozawa to join the Japan Renewal Party in 1993.

Through a series of splits and mergers, Okada then became a member of the Shinshintō, the Party of the Sun, and the Minshutō, finally entering the Democratic Party of Japan after its merger with the Minshutō in 1998. He became the chairman of the DPJ on May 18, 2004, and led the party to one of its biggest electoral victories in the history during the House of Councillors election in 2004.

However, he stepped down as the party chairman after the DPJ suffered major losses in the general election held in September 2005.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Following the success of the Democratic Party of Japan in the general election of 2009, Okada was chosen by party leader Yukio Hatoyama to be appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Personal Life

Okada is known to be an avid collector of frog-themed souvenirs, which decorate his office.