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Renhō

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Renhō Saitō (斉藤 蓮舫, Saitō Renhō, née Hsieh (謝), formerly Murata (村田); born 28 November 1967), known mononymously as Renhō, is a Japanese politician and former journalist who served as member of the House of Councillors from 2004 to 2024. She was the leader of the now-defunct major opposition party, the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017. Renhō was a candidate for the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election with the support of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japanese Communist Party (JCP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP),[1] but was defeated by incumbent Yuriko Koike, placing third behind Shinji Ishimaru.[2]

Renhō Saitō
蓮舫
Renhō in 2024
President of the Democratic Party
In office
1 October 2016 – 27 July 2017
Preceded byKatsuya Okada
Succeeded bySeiji Maehara
Minister of State for Government Revitalization
In office
2 September 2011 – 13 January 2012
Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda
Preceded byYukio Edano
Succeeded byKatsuya Okada
In office
8 June 2010 – 27 June 2011
Prime MinisterNaoto Kan
Preceded byYukio Edano
Succeeded byYukio Edano
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
In office
14 January 2011 – 27 June 2011
Prime MinisterNaoto Kan
Preceded byTomiko Okazaki
Succeeded byGoshi Hosono
Member of the House of Councillors
In office
11 July 2004 – 20 June 2024
ConstituencyTokyo
Personal details
Born
Hsieh Lien-fang (謝蓮舫)

(1967-11-28) 28 November 1967 (age 56)
Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
CitizenshipTaiwan (1967–2016)
Japan (since 1985)
Political partyIndependent (since 2024)
Other political
affiliations		DPJ (2004–2016)
DP (2016–2017)
CDP (2017–2024)
Spouse
Nobuyuki Murata
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 2020)​
Children2
Alma materAoyama Gakuin University
Peking University
Websitewww.renho.jp
Renhō
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese謝蓮舫
Simplified Chinese谢莲舫
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiè Liánfǎng
Bopomofoㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄧㄢˊ ㄈㄤˇ
Wade–GilesHsieh4 Lien2-fang3
IPA[ɕjê ljɛ̌n.fàŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationJeh Lìhnfóng
Jyutpingze6 lin4 fong2
IPA[tsɛ˨ lin˩.fɔŋ˧˥]
Japanese name
Hiraganaさいとう　れんほう
Kyūjitai齊藤　蓮舫
Shinjitai斉藤　蓮舫
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnSaitō Renhō
Kunrei-shikiSaitô Renhô
Former Japanese name
Japanese name
Hiraganaむらた
Kyūjitai村田
Shinjitai村田
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnMurata
Kunrei-shikiMurata

Early and personal life

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Renhō in 2008

Renhō was born Hsieh Lien-fang (traditional Chinese: 謝蓮舫; ; pinyin: Xiè Liánfǎng; Japanese pronunciation: Sha Renhō) in Tokyo to a Japanese mother Saitō Keiko (斉藤圭子) and Han Taiwanese father Hsieh Ge-hsin (謝哲信). She has two brothers: one is a year older, the other is two years younger.[3] Mark Chen, a Taiwanese politician and former Secretary-General of the Office of the President of the Republic of China, is a distant relative of hers.[4] She studied at Aoyama Gakuin in Tokyo from kindergarten through university. She enrolled in the law faculty of Aoyama Gakuin University and graduated in 1990 with the B.L. degree in Public Law.

Born as a citizen of Taiwan, she did not become a citizen of Japan until 1985 when Japanese nationality law was amended to allow Japanese mothers to pass Japanese nationality to their children.[5][6] She was legally a dual citizen until 2016.[7] She adopted her mother's surname, Saitō (斉藤), when she acquired Japanese citizenship; to avoid name confusion in her career, she began to go simply by Renhō.

After her debut as a Clarion Girl in 1988, Renhō appeared on several television and radio programs as a commentator. In 1993, she became a newscaster on TBS and TV Asahi, covering several historical events including the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.[8]

She was married in 1993. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and had also studied it at Peking University in Beijing, China, from 1995 to 1997. Renhō returned to television in 2000, anchoring and reporting on several TBS programs.[8] She reported from Taiwan during Chen Shui-bian's presidential campaign, which brought her to the attention of Taiwanese political leaders.[9][10] In Taiwan, she is often referred to as Lien-fang, the Standard Chinese pronunciation of her given name.

Political career

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In July 2004, Renhō was elected to the House of Councillors representing Tokyo as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. Since election, she has been heavily involved in parenting issues and policies.[8] Renhō has criticized Japan's diplomacy with the People's Republic of China and its refusal to recognize Taiwan, stating that "Japan is too polite when dealing with China, taking a low profile" and "Taiwan is my father's country. Why isn't Taiwan a country?"[9] Since taking office, she has traveled to Taiwan several times on official and unofficial business, garnering extensive public and media attention, and has become close to senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party.[9]

DPJ government (2009–12)

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After the DPJ assumed the reins of government in September 2009, she received much public attention for her stern stance and direct questions to bureaucrats during special fiscal screening committees of the Government Revitalization Unit [ja] established under Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.[8][11]

In June 2010, then Prime Minister Naoto Kan appointed her as Minister for Administrative Reforms.[12] Upon taking the post, Renhō stated that she would be giving particular attention to eliminating waste in the 21 government account.[13] She lost her seat in Cabinet in a subsequent reshuffle, but was retained as a special advisor to the Prime Minister.

In the 2010 House of Councillors election, she garnered a record 1,710,734 constituency votes.[14]

She served as a member of the Cabinet of Japan from 2010 to 2012, serving as Minister for Government Revitalisation and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety.[citation needed] In September 2011, she was re-appointed as State Minister of Government Revitalization (responsible for administrative reforms) in the cabinet of then prime minister Yoshihiko Noda. Her new portfolio also included responsibility for civil service reform, gender equality and Japan's declining birthrate. She served in this post until a cabinet reshuffle in January 2012.

The DPJ was ousted from government in the 2012 general election, following which Renhō returned to the opposition bench. She retained her seat in the 2016 House of Councillors Election.[15]

Leader of the Democratic Party (2016–17)

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In September 2016, she was elected as the leader of Japan's Democratic Party, making her the first woman elected as their leader, and the first person with mixed ethnic heritage and born with foreign citizenship to head a major political party in Japan.[16][17] As head of the Democratic Party, she stated her opposition to revisions of Article 9 of the Constitution, but that she was willing to join debates with the Liberal Democratic Party on other constitutional revisions. She viewed Abenomics to be a partial success, but pushes for greater investment in education, child-rearing and nursing care. She also ruled out forming a coalition government with the Japanese Communist Party and opposed the TPP.[18]

During the presidential election, Renhō claimed that she had given up her Taiwanese citizenship. However, reports emerged that her Taiwanese citizenship had not been properly renounced. In response to doubts regarding her legal status, she took steps to renounce her Taiwanese citizenship beginning in late 2016.[7]

In July 2017, the Democratic Party suffered a very poor showing in the Tokyo prefectural election. Some senior party members blamed the results, in part, on the ongoing questions surrounding Renhō's citizenship.[19] In response to these concerns, she provided evidence of her renunciation of Taiwanese citizenship at a press conference later that month.[7] Days after her press conference, and days following the resignation of former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda as party secretary-general, Renhō resigned as party leader, stating that she had not shown sufficient ability to lead it.[20]

In the CDP (2017–2024)

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Dissatisfied with the ambiguous direction of the DP leadership post the 2017 election, Renhō expressed interest in joining the new progressive Constitutional Democratic Party and had an exploratory talk with CDP leader Yukio Edano in mid-December.[21] She applied to join the CDP on December 26, 2017 citing the DP's lack of policy directions and the CDP's conversely clear policy directions.[22][23] The CDP admitted her into the party on December 28, 2017.[24][25]

On May 27, 2024, Renhō announced that she would run in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election, an office held at the time by Yuriko Koike.[26][27] She automatically lost her seat in the House of Councillors on June 20, the day of the official announcement (kokuji) of the gubernatorial election.[28][29][30] Renhō underperformed expectations, securing 1,283,262 votes, accounting for 18.8% of the total vote share.[2]

Family

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Renhō married journalist Nobuyuki Murata (村田 信之, Murata Nobuyuki) in August 1993, and gave birth to fraternal twins Rin (a boy) and Suiran (a girl) in 1997; Rin went on to become a male "idol" performer.[31] The couple divorced by mutual consent in August 2020. According to her ex-husband, Renhō proposed the divorce as she wanted to stay in Tokyo and continue her political work, while her husband wanted to move out of the city.[31][32] Following the divorce, her ex-husband told a television reporter that "our relationship hasn't changed; we just don't live together."[33]

References

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  1. ^ "自民・公明は小池氏を自主支援、立民・共産・社民は蓮舫氏を全面支援…東京都知事選挙で各党対応". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Inoue, Yukana (7 July 2024). "Koike secures third term as Tokyo governor". The Japan Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Japan's fiscal firebrand". Japan Times. 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  4. ^ 「バナナ娘」蓮舫が大臣に…台湾で大々的報道. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Birth Registration". British Embassy in Japan. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Renho Profile" (in Japanese). Official Renho Website. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "It's official ... opposition leader Renho is 100% Japanese". The Asahi Shimbun. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d "Renho, Cabinet Profiles, Kan Cabinet (Formed 8 June 2010". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Su, Joy (16 August 2004). "Japanese politician with roots in Taiwan latest media darling". Taipei Times. p. 3. Archived from the original on 18 September 2004.
  10. ^ Huang Tai-lin (17 August 2004). "President wants Renho to be bridge". Taipei Times. p. 3. Archived from the original on 18 September 2004.
  11. ^ "PROFILE: Renho spotlighted in waste-cutting debate". Mainichi Shimbun. 5 June 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010.
  12. ^ Pesek, William (9 June 2010). "Ex-Model Gives Economic Change New Meaning". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Renho beats drum against waste". The Japan Times. 10 June 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011.
  14. ^ "蓮 舫 : プロフィル : 参院選2010 : 参院選 : 選挙 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）". Yomiuri.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  15. ^ "DP's Renho wins third Upper House term". The Japan Times. 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  16. ^ "Japan's Democratic Party Elects Renho as New Leader". The Wall Street Journal. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Japan's opposition party just elected Renho Murata to be its leader—the first time a woman will fill the role — Quartz". Qz.com. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Renhō elected leader of main opposition Democratic Party". The Japan Times. 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  19. ^ "Renho's nationality disclosure raises discrimination concerns, fails to unite DP". Mainichi Daily News. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Japan's Main Opposition Leader Resigns Amid Turmoil in Her Party". Bloomberg.com. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  21. ^ Jiji Press via Japan Times (15 December 2017). "Frustrated ex-DP chief Renho wants to know 'what kind of party' CDP is". Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  22. ^ Jiji Press via Yahoo! Japan (26 December 2017). "蓮舫元代表も立憲入りへ＝民進、混迷深まる" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  23. ^ Kyodo News (26 December 2017). "蓮舫氏、立民へ入党届" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  24. ^ Jiji Press via Japan Times (28 December 2017). "DP grants membership to former DP leader Renho". Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  25. ^ Sankei Shimbun (10 January 2018). "蓮舫氏が脱「二重党籍」 民進党が離党届受理" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  26. ^ "High-profile opposition and pro-peace lawmaker Renho to run for Tokyo governor". Kyodo News. 27 May 2024. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  27. ^ Inoue, Yukana (13 June 2024). "Renho, the liberal politician who might dethrone Tokyo's Koike". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  28. ^ "蓮舫氏、都知事選告示日まで「参院議員」辞めず　「自動失職」を明言、石丸伸二氏と対応分かれる". Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  29. ^ "蓮舫氏が参院議員失職　補選日程は確定せず". Jiji Press (in Japanese). 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Tokyo governor race begins with Koike, opposition-backed Renho clash". Kyodo News. 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  31. ^ a b "蓮舫議員と離婚の夫が27年の夫婦関係を告白 離婚は「ショックだった。でも…」 〈dot.〉". AERA dot. (アエラドット) (in Japanese). 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  32. ^ "蓮舫議員"使い捨て離婚"の真相 家事、育児してきたのは夫（NEWS ポストセブン）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  33. ^ "蓮舫参院議員が離婚…元夫の村田信之さんに離婚の経緯を取材". FNNプライムオンライン. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
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House of Councillors
Preceded by Councillor for Tokyo's At-large district
2004–
Served alongside: Masaharu Nakagawa, Toshio Ogawa, Yūji Sawa, Toshiko Takeya, Kōta Matsuda 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State for Government Revitalization
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Civil Service Reform
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
2011 		Succeeded by
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