Seiji Maehara

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Seiji Maehara
前原 誠司
Maehara in 2023
Leader of Free Education for All
In office 30 November 2023 – 3 October 2024
Preceded by	Position established
President of the Democratic Party
In office 1 September 2017 – 1 November 2017
Preceded by	Renhō
Succeeded by	Kohei Otsuka
President of the Democratic Party of Japan
In office 17 September 2005 – 7 April 2006
Preceded by	Katsuya Okada
Succeeded by	Ichirō Ozawa
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
In office 1 October 2012 – 26 December 2012
Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Preceded by	Motohisa Furukawa
Succeeded by	Akira Amari
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 17 September 2010 – 7 March 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Katsuya Okada
Succeeded by	Yukio Edano (Acting)
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
In office 16 September 2009 – 17 September 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Kazuyoshi Kaneko
Succeeded by	Sumio Mabuchi
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 July 1993
Preceded by	Mikio Okuda
Constituency	Kyoto-2nd (2000–) Kinki PR (1996–2000) Kyoto-1st (1993–1996)
Personal details
Born	(1962-04-30) 30 April 1962 (age 62) Kyoto, Japan
Political party	Nippon Ishin no Kai (since 2024)
Other political affiliations	JNP (1992–1994) NPS (1994–1998) DPJ (1998–2016) DP (2016–2017) Kibō (2017–2018) DPFP (2018–2023) FEFA (2023-2024)
Alma mater	Kyoto University (LLB)
Website	Official website

Seiji Maehara (前原 誠司, Maehara Seiji, born 30 April 1962) is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993.^[1] He founded and led the political party, Free Education for All, before its merger into Nippon Ishin no Kai on 3 October 2024.^[2]

Maehara was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from 2005 to 2006, and later served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinets of Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan, before resigning from the cabinet in March 2011 after he acknowledged receiving illegal donations from a South Korean national living in Japan.^[3] Maehara was also the leader of the Democratic Party, the successor party of the DPJ from 1 September 2017 until its dissolution later that month.^[4] Maehara is viewed as a "China war hawk"^[5][6] and a proponent of close ties with the United States.^[7][8][9] He is also often viewed as being politically conservative.^[4][10][11] Maehara founded a new party in 2023, Free Education for All, which is broadly centrist and focused on building a coalition against the LDP.^[12]