Photo: CHERIE A. THURLBY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹¹

Fumio Kyūma

Japanese politician

Fumio Kyūma (久間章生, Kyūma Fumio; born 4 December 1940) is a Japanese politician who was a member of the Diet of Japan between 1980 and 2009. Kyuma graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1964 and worked for the Ministry of Agriculture.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Fumio Kyūma (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Dec 4, 1940.¹

About

He was elected to the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly in 1971 serving three terms before being elected to the Diet as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for Nagasaki Number 2. He served in 2007 as Japan's first Defense minister.

From Wikipedia’s article on Fumio Kyūma, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

System Syunou Center Co.,LtdChair Apr 1999 to Mar 2000¹⁰

Early life and education

Date not recordedUniversity of Tokyo³

Career

Occupation: politician.⁶

2007Minister of Defense of Japan⁴
2006 to 2007Director General of the Defence Agency⁴
1999 to 2000Chair, System Syunou Center Co.,Ltd⁵
1980 to 2009Member of the House of Representatives of Japan⁴

Personal life

BornDec 4, 1940, Kazusa⁷
CitizenshipJapan⁸

Legal issues and controversies

Controversial remarks

In September 2006, shortly after he was appointed Defense Minister, Kyūma stated that the Chinese military was a concern, contradicting earlier comments that he had made referring to China's military as a threat.

In December 2006, Kyūma claimed that although former Prime Minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the invasion did not have the official support of the Japanese government. He later had to withdraw his remarks, admitting that the Japanese "Cabinet officially adopted a unified view supporting the U.S.-led war." On 24 January 2007 he said that the U.S. decision to invade Iraq was a mistake.

In January 2007 he criticized the United States over not getting the approval of Okinawa's governor during efforts to relocate the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The base and its relocation has been a source of friction between the residents of Okinawa and the U.S. government.