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Naoto Kan
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'''Naoto Kan''' (菅 直人 ''Kan Naoto'', b.
October 10 1946) is a Japanese politician who was the former leader of the
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the largest opposition party in the
Diet of Japan Diet. Kan was former Minister for Health and Welfare.
Born in
Ube, Yamaguchi Ube City,
Yamaguchi Prefecture as the son of bussinessman, Kan graduated in
1970 from the
Tokyo Institute of Technology, and opened a patent office in
1974. He actively engaged in civic movements for years and achieved a seat in the lower house in
1980 as a member of
United Social Democratic Party (USDP) through a grassroots environmental campaign. He gained national popularity in
1996 when as health minister he exposed the minister's responsibility for the spread of tainted blood. At that time, he was a member of small party forming the ruling government with the
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). His action was completely unprecedented and was applauded in public media. Also he wrote a best-seller book ''Dai-jin'' (lit. minister) in which he tells the minister responsible for the Emperor.
In
1998, he admitted that he failed to make payments into the state pension scheme for 10 months. Although the amounts were relatively small, he left to avoid hurting the party. Additionally, his image had been hurt by the revelation of an affair with a television newscaster. After
Yukio Hatoyama resigned as the leader of the party, Kan took over the position. In July
2003, the DPJ and the
Liberal Party (Japan) Liberal Party led by
Ichiro Ozawa agreed to form a uniformed opposition party to prepare for the
Japan general election general election that was anticipated to take place in the fall.
During the campaign of the
Japan general election, 2003 election of 2003, the DPJ called the election as the choice of the government between the ruling LDP-bloc and the DPJ and Kan was presented as the alternative candidate to then Prime Minister
Koizumi Junichiro. His face was used as the trademark of the campaign against the LDP.
However, in
2004, Kan was accused of unpaid-annuity and forced to resign the position of leader. On
May 10 2004, he officially announced the resignation.
In mid-October
2005, Kan, who turns 60 in 2006, proposed the creation of a new political party to be called the "Dankai (
baby boomer) Party." The initial intent of the party is to offer places of activity for the Japanese baby boomers - 2.7 million of whom will begin to retire en masse in 2007.
His hobby is a
game of Go and he has a wife and two sons, and lives in
Tokyo.
Reference
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BBC NEWS - Profile: Naoto Kan
Category:1946 births Kan Naoto
Category:Living people Kan Naoto
Category:Japanese politicians Kan Naoto
es:Naoto Kan
fr:Naoto Kan
ja:�直人
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