Taro Kono facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Taro Kono
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河野 太郎
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Official portrait, 2021
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| Minister for Digital Transformation | |
| In office 10 August 2022 – 1 October 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida |
| Preceded by | Karen Makishima |
| Succeeded by | Masaaki Taira |
| Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform | |
| In office 16 September 2020 – 4 October 2021 |
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| Prime Minister | Yoshihide Suga |
| Preceded by | Ryota Takeda |
| Succeeded by | Karen Makishima |
| In office 7 October 2015 – 3 August 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Haruko Arimura |
| Succeeded by | Kozo Yamamoto |
| Minister of Defense | |
| In office 11 September 2019 – 16 September 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Takeshi Iwaya |
| Succeeded by | Nobuo Kishi |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 3 August 2017 – 11 September 2019 |
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| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Fumio Kishida |
| Succeeded by | Toshimitsu Motegi |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission | |
| In office 7 October 2015 – 3 August 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Eriko Yamatani |
| Succeeded by | Jun Matsumoto |
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| Assumed office 21 October 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 January 1963 Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic |
| Spouse | Kaori Kono |
| Children | 1 |
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| Relatives | Ichirō Kōno (paternal grandfather) Kenzō Kōno (great-uncle) Jihei Kōno (great-grandfather) Heizaburo Tagawa (great-grandfather) |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University (BS) |
Taro Kono (河野 太郎, Kōno Tarō, born 10 January 1963) is a Japanese politician who served as the Minister for Digital Transformation from 2022 to 2024. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Before this, he was the Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform. He also served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Since 1996, he has been a member of the House of Representatives, representing Kanagawa's 15th district.
Taro Kono was born in 1963 into a family of politicians. His father, Yōhei Kōno, was a Speaker of the House of Representatives. Taro Kono studied at Georgetown University in the United States. After working in private companies for over ten years, he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996. He has held many important roles in the government since then.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in a Political Family
Taro Kono was born on January 10, 1963, in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa. He was the oldest of three children. His father, Yōhei Kōno, was a well-known politician. He served as the President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Taro Kono came from a family deeply involved in politics. His grandfather, Ichirō Kōno, and his great-uncle, Kenzō Kōno, were also active in Japanese politics. Kenzō Kōno was the Speaker of the House of Councillors from 1971 to 1977.
School Days and Studying Abroad
Kono attended Hanamizu Elementary School, Keio Middle School, and Keio Senior High School. In 1981, he started studying economics at Keio University. However, he decided to leave and study in the United States instead.
In 1982, he moved to the United States. He went to Suffield Academy and then Georgetown University. There, he studied comparative politics, which looks at how different countries are governed. In 1983, he worked for Senator Alan Cranston during his campaign for president. He also worked for Representative Richard Shelby for two years.
Kono also spent time in Warsaw, Poland, at the Warsaw School of Economics. During this time, he visited the home of Lech Wałęsa, a leader of the Solidarity movement. Kono later said that his time studying abroad helped him see Japan from a new perspective.
Starting a Career in Business
Kono graduated from Georgetown University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service. The next year, he started working at Fuji Xerox. In 1991, he moved to Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific in Singapore. In 1993, he joined Nippon Tanshi, a company that makes electric parts for car companies like Toyota and General Motors.
Political Career
Becoming a Member of Parliament
Taro Kono was first elected to the House of Representatives of Japan in October 1996. He was 33 years old at the time. He won the election in the new Kanagawa 15th district. This area included the cities of Hiratsuka and Chigasaki. His father's political area was nearby.
Since 1996, he has been re-elected seven times. He won elections in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2021. His winning margin grew larger over the years. In 2005, he received 186,770 votes, which was one of the highest numbers of votes ever in Japan's election history for a single candidate.
Early Government Roles
Kono has been a member of many important committees in the House of Representatives. These include committees for Economy, Environment, Health, and Finance. From January to October 2002, Kono was a Parliamentary Secretary. He worked on administrative reforms and "e-government" projects. From November 2005 to September 2006, he was the Senior Vice Minister of Justice.
In October 2002, Kono became the Director of the Foreign Affairs Committee. However, he resigned two months later because he disagreed with the government's reasons for the Iraq War. He felt the Foreign Minister had not explained the policy well enough.
Kono was also the Acting Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Committee until November 2003. He was one of the few members of his party who did not support sending the Japan Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.
Working with Prime Minister Abe
Starting Roles in Abe's Cabinet
In October 2015, Kono joined Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet. He became the Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission. He was also in charge of administrative reform, civil service reform, consumer affairs, and disaster management. In this role, he helped organize security for the G7 summit in May 2016.
He worked to move the Consumer Affairs Agency to Tokushima Prefecture. However, the full move was delayed because it was hard to manage duties from a distance. He left this role in August 2016 during a cabinet change.
Becoming Foreign Minister
On August 3, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Kono as the Foreign Minister. He replaced Fumio Kishida. Kono was chosen because he spoke English very well and understood international issues. He was known for being outspoken but also for his diplomatic approach. Many hoped he would improve relations with China, like his father had.
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As Foreign Minister, Kono helped Japan respond to the North Korean crisis. He urged countries to cut ties with North Korea. He also pressed Iran's foreign minister to put more pressure on North Korea. Kono's father, however, thought the government should work more with China.
In April 2018, Kono hosted the first official visit from a Chinese Foreign Minister in nearly ten years. This happened before Prime Minister Abe's visit to President Trump. Kono's strong ties to the United States were seen as a benefit for his role. Abe wanted to strengthen the alliance between Japan and the U.S. Kono also played a key role in a trade dispute with South Korea. By the end of his time as Foreign Minister in September 2019, Kono had visited 59 countries over 100 times.
Serving as Defense Minister
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On September 11, 2019, Abe appointed Kono as the Minister of Defense. In this role, he worked to deepen defense cooperation with countries like Australia and India.
In January 2020, Kono said that Japan and the U.S. should quickly resolve issues with arms purchases. He also celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the U.S.–Japan Alliance.
The Defense Ministry started a 'space defense unit' in May 2020. Kono said this unit would monitor threats to Japan's satellites. The Space Operations Squadron was planned to be fully ready by 2023.
In June 2020, the U.S. stopped the deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system. Kono said this was due to high costs and technical problems. The system would have cost a lot of money and taken many years to fix. Kono was reportedly unhappy that officials had not found these flaws sooner.
In August 2020, Kono warned China that Japan's Self-Defense Force would respond to any intrusions on the disputed Senkaku Islands. He also oversaw an aerial inspection of the islands.
In September 2020, Kono described China as a "security threat" for the first time. He said that as Defense Minister, he had to state that China was a threat to Japan's security.
Working with Prime Minister Suga
Leading Administrative Reform
When Shinzo Abe resigned as Prime Minister in August 2020, Yoshihide Suga became the new leader. Suga kept Kono in his cabinet, moving him back to the role of Minister of State for Administrative Reform. Suga wanted Kono to cut down on government waste and bureaucracy.
The day after taking office, Kono opened a suggestion box on his website for administrative reform ideas. He received so many comments that he had to temporarily close it. He reopened it later on the Cabinet Office website.
On January 18, 2021, Suga announced that Kono would be in charge of Japan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Kono worked with various government agencies and companies to coordinate the vaccine distribution. He became known as Japan's "Vaccine Czar." By the end of his term, almost 70% of Japan's population had received at least one vaccine dose.
Digital Transformation Minister
After the 2021 general election, Kono was not in the cabinet for a short time. However, in August 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed Kono as the Minister for Digital Transformation. He was also in charge of digital reform, consumer affairs, and the national civil service system.
In this new role, Kono worked to improve the My Number identification card system. He aimed to have most residents get the card by March 2023. He also said that health insurance cards would be combined with My Number cards in 2024. However, there were some issues with the system, including cases where people's information was wrongly linked. Kono apologized for these errors and returned part of his salary.
Kono also "declared war" on old technologies like floppy disks and fax machines in government. He wanted to modernize government services and allow more online options. By June 2024, he announced that floppy disks were no longer required for government documentation, and over 1,000 old rules were removed.
Political Views
Taro Kono is known for being a "maverick" in politics. This means he often holds views that are different from his party's main ideas. He is not part of the ultraconservative organization Nippon Kaigi.
Social Issues and Family
Taro Kono supports legalizing same-sex marriage in Japan. He also believes that married couples should be allowed to have different last names.
He has said that he would not visit Yasukuni Shrine if he became prime minister. He visits it now because his relatives died in the war. However, he thinks building a new national memorial for war dead would be better. This would make it easier for the Emperor and Prime Minister to pay their respects without causing tension with neighboring countries.
In 2019, Kono suggested that Japanese names in English should follow the traditional Japanese order: family name first, then given name. He felt this would be a good change with the new Reiwa era and the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.
Energy and the Economy
Kono does not support the government's current nuclear energy policy. He is against building new nuclear power stations and wants Japan to reduce its reliance on nuclear energy. He believes that existing reactors should be shut down after 40 years of use.
He has also supported raising the consumption tax rate to help fund the National Pension system. Kono believes Japan needs more immigration to help with its shrinking and aging population. He has criticized the government for not being open enough to immigrants.
Foreign Policy and Alliances
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Kono is seen as someone who focuses on Asia and has strong ties with the United States. He wants to strengthen the relationship between South Korea and Japan. He believes both countries need to work together to succeed in the changing global environment.
He has taken steps to improve ties, such as supporting direct flights between Seoul and Tokyo. He also wants to make it easier for South Korean business people to get short-term visas for Japan. Kono is the only Japanese lawmaker with a Korean webpage and offers internships to Korean nationals.
Kono supports amending Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. This would allow the Self-Defense Forces to engage in warfare. He also supports the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty but wants to change the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). He is against giving aid to countries that have not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. In May 2023, he said he supported Japan eventually joining AUKUS, hoping it could become "JAUKUS."
Personal Life
Taro Kono is married to Kaori, who also studied in Australia. They have a son named Ippei, born in 2002. The couple enjoys scuba diving and watching movies.
In 2002, Kono's father became very ill. Kono donated part of his liver to his father in a 15-hour operation. Since then, Kono has supported changes to laws about organ donation.
Kono is involved in many professional sports organizations. He is the Chairman of Shonan Bellmare, a professional football club. He also leads the Japan Race Horse Association. He is the President of the Kanagawa Triathlon Union and the Hiratsuka Baseball Association. He also teaches a class at Hosei University.
Kono's favorite food is durian. He was named the Honorary Chairman of the Japan Durian Promotion Association. He is known for wearing suspenders and carrying a purple briefcase. TIME magazine called him a "lovable eccentric" in 2023. He is also very active on social media, with over 2.5 million followers on his Japanese Twitter account.
In November 2023, Kono was told off for trying to use his smartphone to answer questions during a committee meeting. He was trying to find information about who was Foreign Minister in March 2019 (it was him at the time).
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2021
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Kōno delivering a speech 1 July 2010.
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Official portrait, 2019
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Kono (left) at the 2018 Korean Peninsula Summit in Vancouver, Canada.
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Kono met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in July 2018.
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Kono with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in April 2019
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Official portrait, 2019
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Kono gives a speech at Matsushima Air Base in February 2020.
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Kono's portrait as Minister for Administrative Reform
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Kono Taro during a press conference on 27 October 2023.
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Kono Taro inspecting immigration services at Haneda Airport.
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Kono with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
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Kono delivering a speech in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2018.
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Kono speaking at Center-Kita Station in 2016.
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Kono with Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in 2017.
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Kono at the Munich Security Conference in 2018.
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Kono watching himself feature in a video version of the manga Gologo 13, produced for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2018.
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See also
In Spanish: Tarō Kōno para niños
