Yoshito Sengoku

Yoshito Sengoku (仙谷 由人, Sengoku Yoshito; born January 15, 1946 – October 11, 2018) was a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Yoshito Sengoku
仙谷 由人
Sengoku at the 2010 World Economic Forum
Minister of Justice
In office 22 November 2010 – 14 January 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Minoru Yanagida
Succeeded by	Satsuki Eda
Minister of State for the Abduction Issue
In office 22 November 2010 – 14 January 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Minoru Yanagida
Succeeded by	Kansei Nakano
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office 8 June 2010 – 14 January 2011
Prime Minister	Naoto Kan
Preceded by	Hirofumi Hirano
Succeeded by	Yukio Edano
Minister of State for National Strategy
In office 7 January 2010 – 8 June 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Naoto Kan
Succeeded by	Satoshi Arai
Minister of State for Civil Service Reform
In office 16 September 2009 – 8 June 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Kōichirō Genba
Minister of State for Government Revitalisation
In office 16 September 2009 – 10 February 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Yukio Edano
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 20 October 1996 – 4 December 2012
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Mamoru Fukuyama
Constituency	Tokushima 1st
In office 18 February 1990 – 18 June 1993
Constituency	Tokushima at-large
Personal details
Born	(1946-01-15)15 January 1946 Tokushima, Japan
Died	11 October 2018(2018-10-11) (aged 72) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	DP (2016–2018)
Other political affiliations	JSP (before 1996) SDP (1996) DP (1996–1998) DPJ (1998–2016)
Alma mater	University of Tokyo (Incomplete)
Website	Official website

Overviews

Sengoku with Goh Chok Tong in 2012

He was born in Tokushima, Tokushima prefecture. While studying in the University of Tokyo, he passed the bar exam and therefore dropped out of the university. He was elected for the first time in 1990 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party.

Viewed as a close ally of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party has labeled Sengoku as the "second" Prime Minister of the Kan cabinet. Sengoku denies that he wields any extraordinary influence in the government and praised Kan as a "strong leader".^[1]

In January 2011, he was ousted from his position as a top cabinet member due to swelling pressure from the opposition, namely the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito Party, to execute cabinet reform. Sengoku was replaced by Yukio Edano, who was expected to yield much influence over Kan as a protégé of Sengoku.

In March 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan appointed Sengoku as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary.^[2]

He lost his seat in the December 16, 2012 general election.^[3]