Keiichi Ishii

Keiichi Ishii
石井 啓一
Ishii in 2023
President of Komeito
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 September 2024
Preceded by	Natsuo Yamaguchi
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
In office 7 October 2015 – 11 September 2019
Prime Minister	Shinzō Abe
Preceded by	Akihiro Ota
Succeeded by	Kazuyoshi Akaba
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 19 July 1993 – 9 October 2024
Constituency	Tokyo 5th (1993–1996) Tokyo PR block (1996–2000) Northern Kanto PR block (2000–2024)
Personal details
Born	(1958-03-20) 20 March 1958 Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Komeito (1998–present)
Other political affiliations	Komeito (1992–1994) New Frontier (1994–1997)
Alma mater	University of Tokyo

Keiichi Ishii (石井 啓一, Ishii Keiichi, born March 20, 1958) is a Japanese politician who has served as President of the Komeito Party since 2024. He previously served as secretary general of the party from 2020 and 2024, and as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2015 to 2019.

Born in Tokyo and educated as an engineer at the University of Tokyo, he served as an official in the Ministry of Construction before entering politics. He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 1993, and served in the House until his defeat in 2024.

Biography

Keiichi Ishii was born in the Toshima, Tokyo, on 20 March 1958. His father was a tailor. Ishii studied civil engineering at the University of Tokyo and joined the Ministry of Construction after graduating in 1981. At the ministry, he handled in public works such as roads and bridges. He left the ministry in 1992, when he was recruited into politics by the Komeito diet member Takeshi Osada. Ishii was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the 1993 election, as a Komeito candidate in the 5th Tokyo district.

Ishii became chairman of the Komeito Policy Research Council in and was instrumental in building consensus for the integrated social security and tax reform adopted under the Noda Cabinet. In October 2015 Ishii joined the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. He was replaced as minister in September 2019 and was subsequently appointed as Secretary-General of Komeito in September 2020.

In September 2024, Ishii became President of Komeito, succeeding the long-serving Natsuo Yamaguchi. Ishii ran from Saitama 14th district in the election held the following month. The election was a setback for the ruling coalition, which lost its majority in the house, and Ishii himself was unexpectedly defeated despite being an incumbent party leader. Due to this, Ishii announced his intention to resign.

Policy

• He agreed to constitutional amendment.
• He is not necessary to review the constitutional interpretation of the cabinet legislation bureau, which prohibits the exercise of the right to collective self-defense.
• He agreed to restart nuclear power plants that met the new standards of the nuclear regulatory commission.
• He opposes participation of Japan in the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP).
• He agreed to the establishment of the women's imperial family.
• He opposes the prime minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
• He opposes the review of the Murayama and Kono Statements.
• He agrees with the act on the protection of specified secrets.

Controversies

On August 17, 2021, it was reported that five people, including Toshihiro Nikai (secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party), had a dinner at a restaurant in Tokyo. This caused a controversy regarding health and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

External links

• Official website in Japanese.