Kazuya Shimba

Kazuya Shimba (榛葉 賀津也, Shinba Kazuya; born 25 April 1967) is a Japanese politician, the general-secretary of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP). He is serving as a member of the House of Councillors.

Kazuya Shimba
榛葉 賀津也
Shimba in 2023
Secretary-General of the Democratic Party For the People
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2018
Leader	Kohei Otsuka Yuichiro Tamaki Motohisa Furukawa
Preceded by	Position established
Member of the House of Councillors
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 July 2001
Preceded by	Masataka Suzuki
Constituency	Shizuoka at-large
Member of the Kikugawa Town Council
In office 1994–1998
Personal details
Born	(1967-04-25) 25 April 1967 (age 58) Ogasa, Shizuoka, Japan
Political party	DPP (since 2018)
Other political affiliations	LDP (1994–2000) DPJ (2000–2016) DP (2016–2018)
Children	3[1]
Alma mater	Otterbein University

Early life and education

Kazuya Shimba was born in Kikugawa on 25 April 1967.^[2] His father is Tatsuo Shimba, a local councilor who also served as mayor of Kikugawa.^[2]

He graduated from high school in Shizuoka, but went to the United States to study political science at Otterbein University in Ohio, where he earned a bachelor's degree, and then went to Israel.^[2]

Political career

After returning to Japan, he became a Kikugawa assemblyman in 1994 and began his life as a politician.^[2]

However, he was defeated in the 1998 Kikugawa mayoral election.^[2]

In 2001, he ran for the House of Councillors with the Democratic Party of Japan and won the election, joining national politics.^[2]

He focused on diplomacy and defense, serving as Vice Minister of Defense and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.^[2]

After the dissolution of the DPJ, he joined the Democratic Party For the People and currently serves as the secretary general of the Democratic Party For the People.^[2]