Sumio Mabuchi

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Sumio Mabuchi

|native_name = {{nobold|馬淵澄夫}}

|native_name_lang = ja

|image = Mabuchi Sumio.jpg

|imagesize =

|caption = Official portrait, 2010

|office = Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

|primeminister = Naoto Kan

|term_start = 17 September 2010

|term_end = 14 January 2011

|predecessor = Seiji Maehara

|successor = Akihiro Ohata

|office2 = Member of the House of Representatives

|constituency2 = Kinki PR (2019–2021)
Nara 1st (2021–present)

|term_start2 = 5 February 2019

|term_end2 =

|predecessor2 = Shinji Tarutoko

|successor2 =

|constituency3 = Nara 1st

|term_start3 = 9 November 2003

|term_end3 = 28 September 2017

|predecessor3 = Masahiro Morioka

|successor3 = Shigeki Kobayashi

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|8|23|df=y}}

|birth_place = Nara, Japan

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = CDP (since 2020)

|otherparty = {{plainlist|

DPJ (2000–2016)
DP (2016–2017)
Kibō (2017–2018)
Independent (2019–2020)}}

|alma_mater = Yokohama National University

|website = [http://www.mabuti.net/ Official website]

}}

{{nihongo|Sumio Mabuchi|馬淵澄夫|Mabuchi Sumio|extra=born 23 August 1960}} is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).

Early life and education

A native of Nara, Mabuchi was born on 23 August 1960.{{cite web|title=Sumio Mabuchi|url=http://www.dpj.or.jp/english/member/227|publisher=DPJ|accessdate=27 January 2013}} He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, which he received from Yokohama National University in March 1984.{{cite web|title=Sumio Mabuchi CV|url=http://www.japantransport.com/seminar/Mr.Mabuchi.pdf|publisher=Japan Transport|accessdate=27 January 2013}}

Career

File:Minister Mabuchi - 33869209942.jpg in 2010]]

Until 2000, Mabuchi worked in private sector and became director of the firm he was working for at age 32. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2003 after an unsuccessful run in 2000.Johnston, Eric, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110828a5.html Contenders' backgrounds]", Japan Times, 28 August 2011, p. 2. He was appointed senior vice minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism in September 2009.

On 17 September 2010, Mabuchi was named as the new minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism in the reshuffled Naoto Kan cabinet.{{cite news|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100917x2.html|title=Kan replaces over half of his Cabinet|publisher=Kyodo News|date=17 September 2010|accessdate=17 September 2010}} Mabuchi left prime minister Kan's cabinet on 14 January 2011,{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110114/wl_afp/japanpolitics_20110114053437|title=Japan PM adds new faces to cabinet in reshuffle

|publisher=Agence France-Presse|date=14 January 2011|accessdate=14 January 2011}} after the then-opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) passed a censure motion against him following the leaking of Japanese Coast Guard footage of the 2010 Senkaku boat collision incident. and ran unsuccessfully to replace him in the DPJ presidential election after Kan stepped down, losing to Yoshihiko Noda, who replaced Kan as Prime Minister. After the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a major defeat to the LDP under Noda at 2012 Japanese general election. Noda resigned to accept responsibility for the defeat.Mainichi Shimbun [http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121217p2a00m0na023000c.html PM Noda to quit as DPJ chief after electoral disaster 17 December 2012]

The resulting DPJ presidential election was held on 25 December 2012, which was contested by Mabuchi and Banri Kaieda. It was won by Kaieda with 90 votes to Mabuchi's 54 votes.Daily Yomiuri [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T121225001819.htm Kaieda elected new DPJ leader 26 December 2012]Japan Times [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121226a2.html Kaieda takes DPJ helm; Ozawa overture hinted 26 December 2012]

Mabuchi continued to hold his seat until he was narrowly defeated in the 2017 general election.{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/senkyo/senkyo2017/kaihyo/A29.html#Area001|script-title=ja:小選挙区開票速報：奈良県（定数3）|accessdate=21 February 2019|publisher=The Asahi Shimbun|language=Japanese}} He had the highest ratio of margin of defeat (sekihairitsu) (97.27%) among all defeated candidates in the election.{{cite news|title=比例区開票速報：近畿ブロック（定数28）|url=http://www.asahi.com/senkyo/senkyo2017/kaihyo/O08.html#TKJ00002701|accessdate=21 February 2019|publisher=The Asahi Shimbun|language=Japanese}} Mabuchi returned to the House in February 2019 after the resignation of Shinji Tarutoko, who was contesting the Osaka 12th district by-election. Being the candidate with the next largest sekihairitsu in Kibō no Tō's 2017 Kinki proportional representation list, Mabuchi was next in line to fill Tarutoko's PR seat. Mabuchi chose to sit as an independent.{{cite news|title=比例東海・近畿青山氏と馬淵氏、繰り上げ当選に）|url=https://mainichi.jp/senkyo/articles/20190205/ddm/005/010/131000c|date=5 February 2019|accessdate=21 February 2019|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|language=Japanese}}

Nickname

Mabuchi is a bodybuilder, and has been nicknamed "The Terminator".Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics-mabuchi-idUSTRE76424A20110705 Japan can't reject nuclear power out of hand: lawmaker 5 July 2011] On the other hand, he calls himself "lone gorilla".{{cite news|last=Tsuzaka|first=Naoki|title='Lone gorilla' draws support from junior lawmakers|url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201108237139|access-date=27 January 2013|newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun|date=23 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020144720/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201108237139|archive-date=20 October 2012}}