Takeaki Matsumoto

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Date of Birth: 25/04/1959
Place of Birth: Tokyo

In his 27 January address at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Takeaki Matsumoto outlined three pillars of Japan’s African diplomacy: peace and stability; expanding assistance and trade; and addressing global issues. Though the economy argues against him, he assured the audience that Japan intends to double aid to Africa by 2012 (AAC Vol 4 No 3). One of the issues that concerns Japan is climate change; another is piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which hits its fishing fleet.

In Addis, he also visited Maru Metal Industry, where Japanese advisors are helping to implement kaizen (continuous improvement) efficiency principles. He later met with Hailemariam Desaleyn, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister and contender to succeed Premier Meles Zenawi in 2015.

Matsumoto was born into a political dynasty in 1959. His great-grandfather, Hirobumi Ito, was Japan’s first Prime Minister. Matsumoto graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law in 1982. He worked for the Industrial Bank of Japan until taking a position as assistant to his father, a representative. He won his own seat on the House of Representatives in 2000, for the Hyogo No. 11 constituency.

Matsumoto played a key role in the resurgence of the Democratic Party of Japan, which took a parliamentary majority from the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2009. He served as the shadow minister of defence and policy chief. Like his predecessor Saeji Maehara, he has a reputation as a ‘China hawk’. Takeaki Matsumoto, profiled in (AAC Vol 4 No 5), took up the post of Foreign Minister on 9 March. Saeji Maehara, resigned 7 March 2011 after admitting he had accepted donations of 250,000 yen since 2005 from a South Korean national. Matsumoto was quickly promoted from senior vice foreign minister. He joined Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s cabinet in a September 2010 reshuffle.