Junya Ogawa (Japanese: 小川 淳也, Hepburn: Ogawa Jun'ya; born 18 April 1971) is a Japanese politician who has been the…
Junya Ogawa (Japanese: 小川 淳也, Hepburn: Ogawa Jun'ya; born 18 April 1971) is a Japanese politician who has been the president of the Democratic Reform Party (DRP) since September, 2026 and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Takamatsu, Kagawa and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1994. Leaving the ministry in 2003, he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in the same year. Two years later, he ran again and lost for a second time. He ran for a third time in 2009 and was elected for Kagawa 1st district. After being elected, he became Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in the Hatoyama Cabinet. He left the office once Naoto Kan became Prime Minister and served as a backbencher for the rest of the DPJ government. He lost his district but won a proportional seat amidst the DPJ faltering in 2012, and continued to hold his proportional seat under the post-2012 DPJ and its successor, the DP. In 2017, amidst the DP dissolving into Kibō no Tō, he ran under Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's new party, but began to clash with her stances and policy of expulsion for dovish DP members from the party. He was elected in the PR block again in 2017. He later declined to join the DPP and joined the CDP instead. Amidst the release of Why You Can't Be Prime Minister in 2020, a documentary focused on Ogawa's political life, he gained popularity and name recognition across the country. After winning his district of Kagawa-1 for the first time since 2009 in the 2021 election, he ran in the leadership election to succeed Yukio Edano. After placing third and not making a run-off, he was appointed Chairman of the Policy Research Council by Kenta Izumi. He resigned from the position after the 2022 House of Councilors election. In the 2024 CDP leadership election, he declined to run himself, and backed Yoshihiko Noda. Noda appointed him Secretary-General of the party following his victory. Ogawa, alongside Ichirō Ozawa and Noda, led the CDP to gain over 50 seats in the 2024 election, ending in the CDP having the greatest number of seats for an opposition party since 2003. He resigned from the role after the 2025 Councillor elections, and was one of seven Centrist Reform Alliance members to win a first-past-the-post district in 2026. He was elected president of the CRA following the 2026 leadership election and subsequently the DRP, after the CRA's effective dissolution.
Famous People from Kagawa Prefecture
Kagawa Prefecture: 10 people
Yuichiro Tamaki (玉木 雄一郎, Tamaki Yūichirō; born 1 May 1969) is a Japanese politician and the leader of the Democratic…
Yuichiro Tamaki (玉木 雄一郎, Tamaki Yūichirō; born 1 May 1969) is a Japanese politician and the leader of the Democratic Party For the People (DPFP). He is a member of the House of Representatives, and a former leader of Kibō no Tō. Before joining Kibō, Tamaki was a member of the Democratic Party.
Hideto Ōnishi (大西 秀人, Ōnishi Hideto; born 23 August 1959) is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Takamatsu…
Hideto Ōnishi (大西 秀人, Ōnishi Hideto; born 23 August 1959) is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Keizō Hamada (浜田 恵造, Hamada Keizō; born 10 January 1952) is a former Japanese politician and finance bureaucrat and a…
Keizō Hamada (浜田 恵造, Hamada Keizō; born 10 January 1952) is a former Japanese politician and finance bureaucrat and a former governor of Kagawa Prefecture in the Shikoku region of Japan. He held office for three terms, from September 2010 to September 2022.
Kimie Iwata (岩田喜美枝) (born April 6, 1947) is a Japanese businesswoman and former government official. After serving as…
Kimie Iwata (岩田喜美枝) (born April 6, 1947) is a Japanese businesswoman and former government official. After serving as Director-General of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Child Families Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, she has served as Executive Vice President of Shiseido and Chairman of the Japan Foundation for 21st Century Vocational Education.
Yoshio Utsumi (内海 善雄, Utsumi Yoshio; born August 14, 1942) was the Secretary-General of the International…
Yoshio Utsumi (内海 善雄, Utsumi Yoshio; born August 14, 1942) was the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 1998 to 2006.
Takeki Manabe (真鍋 武紀, Manabe Takeki; born 3 April 1940) is a Japanese politician who was the 43rd governor of Kagawa…
Takeki Manabe (真鍋 武紀, Manabe Takeki; born 3 April 1940) is a Japanese politician who was the 43rd governor of Kagawa Prefecture in Japan, serving three terms from 1998 until 2010. In 2009 he announced he would not contest the 2010 election and was succeeded by Keizō Hamada.
Yoshinori Ohno (大野 功統 Ōno Yoshinori; 16 October 1935 – 16 July 2023) was a Japanese politician who served as Minister…
Yoshinori Ohno (大野 功統 Ōno Yoshinori; 16 October 1935 – 16 July 2023) was a Japanese politician who served as Minister of State for Defense in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's third Cabinet from 2004 to 2005. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Masayoshi Ōhira (大平 正芳, Ōhira Masayoshi; 12 March 1910 – 12 June 1980) was a Japanese politician who served as prime…
Masayoshi Ōhira (大平 正芳, Ōhira Masayoshi; 12 March 1910 – 12 June 1980) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1978 until his death in 1980. Born in Kagawa Prefecture, Ōhira worked in the Ministry of Finance from 1936, and served as the private secretary to Hayato Ikeda, finance minister from 1949 to 1952. Ōhira was first elected to the Diet in 1952, and served as foreign minister in Ikeda's cabinet from 1962 to 1964 and as international trade and industry minister from 1968 to 1970 under Eisaku Satō. He took over Ikeda's faction of the Liberal Democratic Party and later served as foreign minister from 1972 to 1974 under Kakuei Tanaka and as finance minister from 1974 to 1976 under Takeo Miki. He succeeded Takeo Fukuda as LDP president and prime minister in 1978. After his government was defeated in a no-confidence vote, Ōhira decided to call the 1980 election rather than resign, but died suddenly of a heart attack. He is the most recent Japanese premier to die in office.
Juichi Tsushima (Japanese: 津島壽一) (1888–1967) was the 7th President of the Japanese Olympic Committee (1959–1962). He…
Juichi Tsushima (Japanese: 津島壽一) (1888–1967) was the 7th President of the Japanese Olympic Committee (1959–1962). He was a graduate of the Tokyo Imperial University. From 1957 to 1958 he was Director General of the Japan Defense Agency.