Hiroe Umon (1993-) was Prime Minister of Japan from 12 June 2023, succeeding Tekkan Furusawa.
Biography[]
Hiroe Umon was born in Nagasaki, Japan in 1993, and she ran a small business in her hometown before entering politics with the Buddhist-oriented Komeito party. She was elected to the House of Representatives on 19 March 2018, and she was made deputy party leader under Sorai Rakuyama. In December 2022, she served as her party's candidate for Prime Minister due to Rakuyama's term limits, losing to Constitutional Democratic Party leader Tekkan Furusawa. However, in May 2003, she led her party's resurgence at the expense of the ruling CDP, and she won the direct election for the premiership with 15.9% of the vote to CDP candidate Tsugumichi Hayabusa's 15.3%. She was supported by the small business community, which supported Komeito due to its advocacy for business amid the steep recession.