Tetsuo Saito

Tetsuo Saito
Tetsuo Saito
斉藤鉄夫
	Official portrait, 2021
Chief Representative of Komeito
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 November 2024
Preceded by	Keiichi Ishii
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
	In office; 4 October 2021 – 11 November 2024
Prime Minister	Fumio Kishida; Shigeru Ishiba
Preceded by	Kazuyoshi Akaba
Succeeded by	Hiromasa Nakano
Minister of the Environment
	In office; 2 August 2008 – 16 September 2009
Prime Minister	Yasuo Fukuda; Tarō Asō
Preceded by	Ichirō Kamoshita
Succeeded by	Sakihito Ozawa
Member of the House of Representatives
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 19 July 1993
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Constituency	Hiroshima 1st (1993–1996); Chugoku PR (1996–2021); Hiroshima 3rd (2021–present)
Personal details
Born	5 February 1952 (age 73); Ōnan, Shimane, Japan
Political party	Komeito
Other political; affiliations	New Frontier
Alma mater	Tokyo Institute of Technology
Occupation	Physical engineer; Politician

Tetsuo Saito (斉藤鉄夫, Saitō Tetsuo, born 5 February 1952) is a Japanese politician who serves as chief representative of the Komeito since 2024. He served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism from 2021 to 2024 and Minister of the Environment from 2008 to 2009.

Born in Shimane Prefecture, he was educated at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and worked as an engineer before entering politics. He was elected to serve as chief representative of the Komeito to succeed Keiichi Ishii, who was defeated in the 2024 election.

Career

Tetsuo Saito was born on 5 February 1952, in Ōchi District, Shimane. His father was a village councilman belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party and the head of a local group supporting Noboru Takeshita.^[1]

Saito attended the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an undergraduate studying applied physics, graduating in 1976, and received a Ph.D. in engineering from the same school. His first employment was with the major construction firm Shimizu Corporation. Saito was a visiting researcher at Princeton University for three years beginning in 1986. He was elected to the Diet for the first time in 1993.^[2]

Saito is known for his ties with NASA as well as expert knowledge of lunar bases and clean energy technology. Due to his knowledge in these areas, he was appointed parliamentary secretary of science and technology in 1999 in the Keizo Obuchi administration.^[2]

Saito was appointed Minister of the Environment by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on 1 August 2008.^[2] ^[3] In the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tarō Asō, appointed on 24 September 2008, Saito was retained in his post.^[4]

On 9 November 2024, Saito was selected as leader of Komeito following an extraordinary party convention to replace Keiichi Ishii, who lost his parliamentary seat in the 2024 Japanese general election.^[5]

Personal life

His main hobbies are swimming and trains.^[2]^[6]

References

^ "「混乱した世界は自公でかじ取り」公明・斉藤代表　父は自民党員、連立を「本当に喜んだ」". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", August 3, 2008.
^ "Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, August 2, 2008.
^ "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, September 25, 2008.
^ "Land minister Tetsuo Saito takes helm of Japan coalition partner Komeito". Kyodo News. 2024-11-09.
^ Profile

政治家情報〜斉藤鉄夫〜. www.senkyo.janjan.jp ザ･選挙 (in Japanese). JANJAN. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2007-10-20.

https://www.sankei.com/article/20250309-FC67J2NVZ5HULPJLCNDTAKDCZM/

External links

Official website in Japanese.

Political offices
Preceded by Ichirō Kamoshita	Minister of the Environment 2008–2009	Succeeded by Sakihito Ozawa
Preceded by Kazuyoshi Akaba	Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism 2021–2024	Succeeded by Hiromasa Nakano
Party political offices
Preceded by Yoshihisa Inoue Natsuo Yamaguchi	Chairman of the Policy Research Council, Komeito 2006–2008 2009–2010	Succeeded by Natsuo Yamaguchi Keiichi Ishii
Preceded by Yoshihisa Inoue	Secretary General of the Komeito 2018–2020	Succeeded by Keiichi Ishii
Preceded by Keiichi Ishii	Chief Representative of Komeito 2024–present	Incumbent

This article about a Japanese politician born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "「混乱した世界は自公でかじ取り」公明・斉藤代表　父は自民党員、連立を「本当に喜んだ」". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

[Lineup-2] Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", August 3, 2008.

[3] "Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, August 2, 2008.

[4] "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, September 25, 2008.

[5] "Land minister Tetsuo Saito takes helm of Japan coalition partner Komeito". Kyodo News. 2024-11-09.

[6] Profile

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Environment Ministers of Japan
Environment Agency Director General	Yamanaka Ōishi Koyama Miki Mōri Ozawa Marumo Ishihara Yamada Uemura Tsuchiya Kujiraoka Hara Kajiki Ueda Ishimoto Mori Inamura Horiuchi Aoki
Environment Agency Director General Director in Charge of Global Environmental Problems	Yamazaki Moriyama Shiga Kitagawa Aichi Nakamura Hayashi Hironaka Hata Hamayotsu Sakurai Miyashita Ōshima Iwatare Ishii Ōki Manabe Shimizu Kawaguchi
Minister of the Environment Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems	Kawaguchi Ōki Suzuki Koike Wakabayashi Kamoshita
Minister of the Environment	Saitō Ozawa Matsumoto Eda Hosono Nagahama Ishihara Mochizuki Marukawa Yamamoto Nakagawa Harada Koizumi Yamaguchi Nishimura Ito Asao