Goshi Hosono

Goshi Hosono
細野 豪志
Official portrait, 2011
Minister of Environment of Japan
In office
2 September 2011 – 1 October 2012
Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda
Preceded bySatsuki Eda
Succeeded byHiroyuki Nagahama
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 June 2000
Preceded byYoshiaki Kibe
ConstituencyShizuoka-5th
Personal details
Born (1971-08-08) 8 August 1971 (age 53)
Ayabe, Kyoto, Japan
Political partyLDP (2021–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Alma materKyoto University

Goshi Hosono (細野 豪志, Hosono Gōshi, born 8 August 1971) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Ōmihachiman, Shiga and graduate of Kyoto University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000. He was the Minister of Environment and Minister of State for Nuclear Power Policy and Administration in the cabinet of Yoshihiko Noda.[2][3][4] He represents the 5th District of Shizuoka prefecture.

Goshi Hosono considered running in the September 2012 Democratic Party (DPJ) presidential elections against incumbent Yoshihiko Noda, but was eventually dissuaded from doing so by senior members of the party.[5]

Goshi Hosono was a protégé of DPJ Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi, who saw him as a potential future Prime Minister.[6]

After Noda's re-election as party president, and re-appointment of Koshiishi as Secretary General of the DPJ, Noda persuaded Hosono to become chairman of the party Policy Research Committee. The appointment of the popular 41-year-old Hosono was seen as important in preparing for the upcoming general election.[7]

Hosono in 2013

After the DPJ's loss in the December 2012 election, the party went into opposition. Hosono was cited as a possible successor to the party's leader Banri Kaieda.[8] After Kaieda was defeated in the 2014 election, Hosono ran for the DPJ leadership, but was defeated by former party president Katsuya Okada.

In August 2017, Hosono left the Democratic Party, the successor of the DPJ, with the intention to form his own political party. His reason for wanting to leave the party was because of its policy on security and amending the Constitution.[9] In September, he collaborated with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and Diet member Masaru Wakasa to form a conservative opposition party named the Party of Hope.[10] After the then-DP leader Seiji Maehara allowed party members to run under the Hope banner in the imminent general election, conservative-leaning DP representatives moved to Hope en masse. However, a significant bloc of ex-DP representatives were barred from running under the Hope ticket by then-party leader Koike. Several of these representatives then formed the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) to house liberal-leaning former DP members. Some chose to run as independents, including Yoshihiko Noda and Katsuya Okada.[11][12]

Despite appearing at the start of the campaign to be able to deprive Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of his majority, campaign blunders by Koike led the party to fall short of initial expectations. Hope lost seats and only became the second largest opposition party behind the CDP, which ran a relatively successful campaign despite being hastily established.[13]

When Hope merged with the Democratic Party in May 2018 to form the Democratic Party for the People, Hosono decided to not join the new party and became an independent member instead.[14] Hosono later joined Shisuikai,[15] the Nikai faction of the LDP in January 2019 while remaining as an independent.[15]

  1. ^ "無所属の細野豪志氏 自民入党" (in Japanese). Sankei Shinbun. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  2. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu; Fackler, Martin (8 August 2011). "Anger in Japan Over Withheld Radiation Forecasts". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Japan Times, "Cabinet Profiles: Noda Cabinet Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine", 3 September 2011, p. 3.
  4. ^ Kamiya, Setsuko, "Hosono to reshape nuclear policy", Japan Times, 13 September 2011, p. 3.
  5. ^ The Daily Yomiuri DPJ heavyweights prevailed on Hosono not to run 9 September 2012 Retrieved 26 September 2012
  6. ^ Asahi Shimbun Ruling party reshuffle aims to heal divisions 25 September 2012
  7. ^ The Daily Yomiuri Noda party changes 'aimed at election' / Intraparty harmony seen as another factor in choices for top DPJ leadership posts 26 September 2012 Retrieved 26 September 2012
  8. ^ Japan Times August 18, 2014 Lawmakers, China’s vice president agree to improve bilateral ties Retrieved on August 26, 2014
  9. ^ "Ex-minister Hosono to leave opposition Democratic Party". Japan Times. 4 August 2017.
  10. ^ Jiji Press (19 September 2017). "DP defector and ally of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike to form new party". The Japan Times.
  11. ^ "THosono hints ex-prime ministers Kan, Noda should not join Koike's new party". Mainichi Shimbun. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  12. ^ かわら版 No.1109 『股くぐりの真相』.
  13. ^ Martin, Alex; Kikuchi, Daisuke (22 October 2017). "Top opposition forces see contrasting fates after poll". Japan Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  14. ^ 国民民主党６２人参加 「野党第１党」に届かず (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  15. ^ a b Takeuchi, Nozomu (29 January 2019). "Independent lawmaker Hosono to join LDP's Nikai faction" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 26 February 2019.