Kentarō Uesugi

Kentarō Uesugi
上杉 謙太郎
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 February 2026
Preceded byShinji Oguma
ConstituencyFukushima 3rd
In office
23 October 2017 – 9 October 2024
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byMulti-member district
ConstituencyTohoku PR
Personal details
Born (1975-04-20) 20 April 1975
Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
PartyLDP
Other political
affiliations
NRP (until 2013)
Alma materWaseda University
WebsiteKentarō Uesugi website

Kentarō Uesugi (上杉 謙太郎, Uesugi Kentarō; born 20 April 1975) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the House of Representatives.[1]

Early years

In 1975, Uesugi was born in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from the Waseda University's School of Social Sciences, he entered Hiroyuki Arai's Office and served a secretary to him from 2005 until 2010.[2]

Political career

In the 2012 general election, Uesugi ran in Tohoku PR as a NRP candidate but could not win a seat.[3]

In 2013, he became a tech company executive and supported Masako Mori as a social media staff in the 2013 House of Councillors election.[2]

In the 2014 general election, Uesugi ran in Fukushima 3rd district as a LDP candidate but lost to incumbent Kōichirō Genba.[4]

In the 2017 general election, Uesugi lost to Genba but won a seat in the PR.[5]

In October 2021, Uesugi was appointed to Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs in the First Kishida cabinet.[6]

In the 2021 general election, Uesugi lost to CDP’s Genba but won a seat in the PR again.[7] After the election, he was re-appointed to Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Second Kishida cabinet.[8]

Due to the redistricting that reduced Fukushima Prefecture's seats from five to four, Ichirō Kanke was appointed as the head of the LDP new Fukushima 3rd district branch (effectively the designated candidate) on 14 March 2023. Uesugi would run in the PR in the next general election.[9]

On 6 October 2024, the new LDP President Shigeru Ishiba announced a policy regarding the upcoming general election: members involved in the slush fund scandal who failed to report political funds in their income and expenditure reports will not be allowed to run on the PR block's party list, even if they are nominated as candidates for their respective single-seat constituencies.[10] The treatment of Uesugi, who had been scheduled to run solely for the proportional representation block, became a point of contention. On October 11, he announced his withdrawal from the race, stating, "I have decided to withdraw to show that I am taking clear responsibility. I will start over from scratch."[11][12] However, after Kanke, who was set to run in the Fukushima 3rd district, abruptly announced that he would not seek election, Uesugi reversed his decision two days later. On October 13, he declared his candidacy for the Fukushima 3rd district.[13][14] He ran as an independent, as he was unable to secure LDP's nomination. In the 2024 general election, he lost to CDP's Shinji Oguma and lost re-election.[15]

In the 2026 general election, Uesugi defeated CRA's Oguma and gained the Fukushima 3rd seat. [16]

Scandal

Slush fund scandal

On 1 December 2023, the Asahi Shimbun reported that Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, known as Abe faction, is suspected of continuing to systematically kick back to lawmakers with the income collected by its members beyond the sales quota.[17]

It was revealed that Uesugi used a total of 3.09 million yen as slush funds for five years from 2018 to 2022 as a kickback from the faction for quota excess.[18]

On 4 April 2024, LDP held the Party Ethics Committee meeting and decided to issue a reprimand to Uesugi from the Secretary-General.[19][20]

On 14 May 2024, the House of Representatives Political Ethics Committee unanimously passed the opposition's petition to attend and explain 44 LDP members who were involved in the slush fund scandal but did not explain themselves to the committee.[21] On 17 May 2024, the House of Councillors Political Ethics Committee unanimously passed a petition for attendance and explanation to 29 members who had not made excuses. All 73 Diet members, including Uesugi, refused to attend, and the ordinary Diet session was closed on 23 June 2024.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Kentarō Uesugi". LDP (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "国会議員情報：上杉謙太郎". Jiji Press (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "比例区開票速報：東北ブロック". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 16 December 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "小選挙区開票速報：福島". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 14 December 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "小選挙区開票速報：福島". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 22 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "The Kishida Cabinet List of Parliamentary Vice-Ministers". PM office of Japan. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "衆院選 福島 開票速報". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 31 October 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "The second KISHIDA Cabinet List of Parliamentary Vice-Ministers". PM office of Japan. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "自民、衆院福島新3区に菅家一郎氏　上杉謙太郎氏は東北比例へ". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "裏金議員43人の比例重複認めず　萩生田氏ら6人は非公認　首相表明". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "自民党前議員の上杉謙太郎氏が出馬辞退、不記載議員の一人で「しっかりとけじめを見せる」". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 11 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "自民の上杉謙太郎氏、衆院選への不出馬を表明「国民に責任を取りたい」". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 11 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "福島3区で上杉氏が出馬へ　無所属、自民比例を辞退". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 13 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "上杉謙太郎氏が比例辞退から一転、無所属で立候補へ　衆院福島3区". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 13 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "福島3区 衆議院選挙". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 27 October 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "福島３区 小選挙区【衆議院選挙】開票速報・結果". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 8 February 2026. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "安倍派、1億円超の裏金か　パー券ノルマ超えを還流　地検が立件視野". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1 December 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "【一覧】自民党「裏金」調査　最多は二階俊博氏　85人が記載漏れ、誤記載を申告、5年で計5.7億円超". Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 31 January 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "自民裏金、党紀委が塩谷・世耕両氏に離党勧告　39人の処分決定". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 4 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "自民党の処分全容　党の役職停止は武田良太氏ら17人". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 4 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "衆院政倫審での弁明、裏金議員44人全員が拒否　全会一致の議決でも". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 20 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "裏金議員73人、政倫審に応ぜず閉会　「レッテル貼られるだけ」". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 24 June 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
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