Yoshihiko Noda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yoshihiko Noda
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野田 佳彦
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Noda in 2024
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| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 2 September 2011 – 26 December 2012 |
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| Monarch | Akihito |
| Deputy | Katsuya Okada (2012) |
| Preceded by | Naoto Kan |
| Succeeded by | Shinzo Abe |
| Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 23 September 2024 |
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| Deputy | Akira Nagatsuma Kiyomi Tsujimoto Hiroshi Ogushi |
| Preceded by | Kenta Izumi |
| Secretary-General of the Democratic Party | |
| In office September 2016 – September 2017 |
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| President | Renhō |
| Preceded by | Yukio Edano |
| Succeeded by | Atsushi Oshima |
| President of the Democratic Party of Japan | |
| In office 29 August 2011 – 25 December 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Naoto Kan |
| Succeeded by | Banri Kaieda |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 8 June 2010 – 2 September 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Naoto Kan |
| Preceded by | Naoto Kan |
| Succeeded by | Jun Azumi |
| Senior Vice Minister of Finance | |
| In office 16 September 2009 – 8 June 2010 Serving with Naoki Minezaki
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| Minister | Hirohisa Fujii Naoto Kan |
| Preceded by | Wataru Takeshita Masatoshi Ishida |
| Succeeded by | Motohisa Ikeda Naoki Minezaki |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 26 June 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Shōichi Tanaka |
| Constituency | Chiba 4th (2000–2024) Chiba 14th (2024–present) |
| In office 19 July 1993 – 27 September 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Chiba 1st |
| Member of the Chiba Prefectural Assembly | |
| In office 23 April 1987 – 5 July 1993 |
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| Constituency | Funabashi City |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 May 1957 Funabashi, Chiba, Japan |
| Political party | CDP (since 2020) |
| Other political affiliations |
JPN (1992–1994) NFP (1994–1997) DPJ (1998–2016) DP (2016–2018) Independent (2018–2020) Group of Independents (2018–2019) Social Security (2019) |
| Spouse |
Hitomi Noda
(m. 1992) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Waseda University (BA) |
| Website | Government website |
Yoshihiko Noda (野田 佳彦, Noda Yoshihiko, born 20 May 1957) is a Japanese politician. He is currently the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000. From 2011 to 2012, he served as the Prime Minister of Japan.
Noda started his political career in 1993 with the Japan New Party. In 1996, he joined the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). After the DPJ won the 2009 election, Noda became a senior vice minister of finance. In 2010, he became the minister of finance. When Prime Minister Naoto Kan resigned, Noda won the election to become the new leader. He was appointed prime minister on September 2, 2011.
The DPJ lost many seats in the December 2012 election. Noda then resigned as party leader. Banri Kaieda was chosen as the new leader. Shinzo Abe became the next Prime Minister on December 26, 2012.
Later, Noda left the DPJ and became an independent politician. In 2021, he joined the CDP. In 2024, Noda won the CDP's leadership election. He beat the current leader Kenta Izumi and former leader Yukio Edano. Soon after, the 2024 Japanese general election was held. The CDP had its best election result ever. The ruling party lost its majority.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Yoshihiko Noda was born in Funabashi, Japan, on May 20, 1957. His father was a paratrooper in the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Unlike many Japanese politicians, Noda did not come from a famous political family. His parents were not wealthy.
Noda finished Funabashi Senior High School in 1975. He then studied Political Science at Waseda University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980. Later, he joined the Matsushita Institute. This school was started by Kōnosuke Matsushita, who founded Panasonic. The goal was to train future leaders for Japan. While at the institute, Noda worked part-time reading gas meters. He did this to get to know the people in his home area better. He was first elected to the Chiba Prefecture assembly in 1987 when he was 29 years old.
Political Career in the Diet
In 1993, Noda was elected to the Diet for the first time. He was a member of the Japan New Party. After a change in election rules, he ran in the Chiba 4th district in 1996 but lost. He then joined the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). He won the Chiba 4th district seat in the 2000 election. As a DPJ member, he led the party's work in the Diet and its public relations.
In October 2005, Noda spoke about Prime Minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi's views on Japanese war criminals. Noda supported Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
Noda served as senior vice finance minister under Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. This was after the DPJ won the 2009 election. In June 2010, Prime Minister Naoto Kan made him Minister of Finance. Noda was known as a reformer. He wanted to cut Japan's debt and control public spending. In January 2011, the finance ministry bought dollars to stop the yen from getting too strong. This was the first time in six years they had done this.
Prime Minister of Japan (2011–2012)
After Naoto Kan resigned in August 2011, Noda ran to become the new leader of the DPJ. He won the election against Banri Kaieda. This made him the likely next prime minister. He faced the big challenge of rebuilding Japan after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
During the leadership decision, Noda gave a speech. He compared himself to a "dojo loach," a type of fish that lives at the bottom. He said, "I'll never be a goldfish in a scarlet robe, but like a loach in muddy waters. I'll work hard for the people, to move politics forward." This "loach speech" was very popular.
Noda said he wanted strong ties with the United States. He stressed the importance of the US-Japan security alliance. On August 15, 2011, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, he said that some convicted war criminals were not legally criminals in his view. As prime minister, he said he would follow past government positions. He did not want to harm relations with China or South Korea.
Nuclear Energy Policy
In his first speech as Prime Minister on September 2, 2011, Noda said Japan would slowly stop using nuclear power. This meant not building new nuclear power plants. It also meant not making old ones last longer. In May 2012, some nuclear power plants were restarted. They had been stopped after the Fukushima accident. This was done to help Japan meet its energy needs, even with protests.
Joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership
One of Noda's main goals was for Japan to join talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He announced this on November 11, 2011. This idea was debated a lot in Japan.
Senkaku Islands Issue
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government wanted to buy the Senkaku Islands. These islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan. Tokyo's governor wanted to build things on the islands to show they were Japanese. Noda's government thought this might make tensions worse with China. On April 27, 2012, Tokyo started collecting money from the public to buy the islands. By September 2012, they had raised 1.4 billion yen.
On August 24, Noda said on TV that he would ask other countries to support Japan's claims to the islands. On September 11, the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private family. China's Foreign Ministry said they would not "sit back and watch its territorial sovereignty violated."
Consumption Tax Increase
Another big goal for Noda was to raise Japan's consumption tax from 5% to 10%. Noda said he would "stake his political life" on passing this law. The bill passed the lower house of the Diet on June 26, 2012. It passed the upper house on August 10, 2012. On that day, Noda survived a vote of no confidence. He had promised to call an early election "soon" if the tax passed. He later said he would have quit as a lawmaker if the tax increase had not passed.
Noda was praised for passing the tax hike despite strong opposition. But he was also criticized for making the DPJ more like its rival, the LDP. Some said he was "the best prime minister the LDP never had."
Loss in the 2012 General Election
On September 21, 2012, Noda won the DPJ's leadership election again. He said, "I would like to beef up our teamwork so that we can shift the DPJ once again to make it a fighting force that can serve Japan." Many DPJ members were against this, as the party was not doing well in polls.
On November 14, 2012, Noda announced that the Diet would be closed on November 16. The election would be held on December 16, 2012. The DPJ's poll numbers improved before the election. This gave them hope they could stop the LDP from winning a full majority. Noda focused his campaign on market liberalization.
In the general election on December 16, the LDP won a big victory. Shinzo Abe became prime minister again. The DPJ lost about three-fourths of its seats. Noda immediately resigned as DPJ president. He took responsibility for the loss.
After Being Prime Minister
In March 2016, the DPJ merged with another party to form the new Democratic Party (Minshintō). In September of that year, Renhō, a politician Noda supported, became the party president. Noda was made secretary-general. This caused some debate in the party. Many still blamed Noda for the 2012 election loss. Noda and Renhō both resigned after poor results in the July 2017 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections.
After Shinzo Abe was assassinated in July 2022, Noda attended his state funeral. Most lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan did not attend. Noda gave a speech about Abe in the House of Representatives on October 25, 2022.
In August 2024, Noda announced he would run in the Constitutional Democratic Party presidential election. He challenged the current leader Kenta Izumi. He won the election on September 23, beating Yukio Edano in a second round of voting.
Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party
After winning the election, Noda appointed Akira Nagatsuma, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, and Hiroshi Ogushi as his deputies. He also named Junya Ogawa as secretary general. He announced his new team on September 30, 2024.
Under Noda's leadership, the CDP gained many seats in the 2024 Japanese general election on October 27. The ruling parties lost their majority. On November 11, Noda tried to become prime minister but lost to Shigeru Ishiba of the LDP.
Personal Life
Noda has been married to Hitomi since 1992. They have two sons. He has a black belt in judo. His favorite foods are ramen and sake. He wrote a book called Enemy of the DPJ: Government Change Has a Good Cause.
In an interview, Noda said he enjoys watching movies. He is a fan of Meryl Streep. She won an award for playing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the movie The Iron Lady. Noda also likes the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This movie is about a senator who fights against political corruption.
Noda also likes professional wrestling. He has said that Kenta Kobashi is his favorite wrestler. On May 11, 2013, Noda went to Kobashi's retirement event in Tokyo.
See also
In Spanish: Yoshihiko Noda para niños
- Noda Cabinet
Images for kids
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Noda with Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
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Noda campaigning during the 2024 Japanese general election in October 2024.
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