Yasuhiro Hanashi

Yasuhiro Hanashi
葉梨 康弘
Official portrait, 2016
Minister of Justice
In office 10 August 2022 – 11 November 2022
Prime Minister	Fumio Kishida
Preceded by	Yoshihisa Furukawa
Succeeded by	Ken Saitō
Member of the House of Representatives for Ibaraki 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 November 2012
Preceded by	Toshiaki Koizumi
In office 10 October 2003 – 18 August 2009
Preceded by	Nobuyuki Hanashi
Succeeded by	Toshiaki Koizumi
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-12) 12 October 1959 Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Alma mater	University of Tokyo

Yasuhiro Hanashi (葉梨 康弘, Hanashi Yasuhiro, born 1959) is a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Justice from August to November 2022. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and has served in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009 and again since 2012.

A native of Ibaraki Prefecture and graduate of the University of Tokyo he joined the National Police Agency in 1982 becoming the director in the Juvenile Community Safety division. After leaving the agency in 1999, he was elected to public office for the first time in 2003 representing Ibaraki 3rd district, which includes the cities of Ryugasaki and Ushiku, among others. He also served as Vice Minister of Justice in 2017, and Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in 2020.

Hanashi resigned as Justice Minister on 11 November 2022 following comments he made to a political gathering earlier in the week suggesting that the Justice Minister was a “unspectacular position” that became "a top story in daytime news programs only when stamping a seal on documents of execution." and “Serving as justice minister won't help raise much money or secure many votes”. Opposition leaders like Akira Koike of the Japanese Communist Party said that Hanashi was disrespecting the post and its responsibilities, as well as making light of the death penalty. Hasashi’ comments follow a string of highly publicized LDP scandals like the Unification Church Scandal, that deeply harmed the party’s reputation, and led Prime Minister Kishida to take a firm stance against scandal in the Party. He dismissed 4 ministers in a cabinet reshuffle to solidify this stance.

References

KYODO NEWS. (2022, November 11). Japan’s justice minister dismissed over gaffes about death penalty. Kyodo News+. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/11/75c4b01e2790-breaking-news-japan-justice-minister-hanashi-to-be-dismissed-over-gaffe-source.html#google_vignette

Japan's justice minister resigns over quip about death penalty. (November 12, 2022 Saturday). Japan's justice minister resigns over quip about death penalty. The Straits Times (Singapore). https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:66V6-H2B1-DYX4-04F1-00000-00&context=1516831.

  (November 10, 2022 Thursday). Japan Justice Min. Apologizes for Calling Job Unspectacular. Jiji Press Ticker Service. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:66V0-2VS1-DYX6-94F5-00000-00&context=1516831.

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, April 26). Ibaraki Prefecture. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibaraki_Prefecture

HANASHI Yasuhiro (The Cabinet) | Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. (n.d.). Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/meibo/daijin/hanashi_e.html

 Takeshi Endo and Susumu Hashima Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers. (October 31, 2003 Friday). 2 battle for Aonaka seat. The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo). https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:4B06-C7J0-001X-J188-00000-00&context=1516831.

External links

• Official website in Japanese.