Katsuya Okada (14 July 1953-) was a Japanese DPJ politician who served in the House of Representatives from 19 February 1990, as leader of the DPJ from 18 August 2004 to 17 September 2005 (succeeding Naoto Kanand preceding Seiji Maehara) and from 14 December 2014 to 1 October 2016 (succeeding Banri Kaieda and preceding Renho), as Foreign Minister from 18 September 2009 to 17 September 2010 (succeeding Hirofumi Nakasone and preceding Seiji Maehara), and as Deputy Prime Minister from 13 January to 26 December 2012 (succeeding Naoto Kan and preceding Taro Aso).
Biography[]
Katsuya Okada was born in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan on 14 July 1953, and he worked for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry before running for the House of Representatives in 1990 and being elected as an LDP candidate. He left to join the Japan Renewal Party in 1993, the New Frontier Party from 1994 to 1996, the Sun Party from 1996 to 1998, the Good Governance Party in 1998, the DPJ from 1998 to 2017, and the CDP in 2020. He led the DPJ to a major victory in the 2004 House of Councillors election, but he resigned after his party's dramatic defeat in the September 2005 general election. He went on to serve as Foreign Minister in 2009, negotiating the relocation of a US Marine Corps airbase on Okinawa. In 2010, he became Secretary-General of the DPJ, and he served as Deputy Prime Minister in 2012. From 2014 to 2016, he returned to leading the DPJ, but he stepped down after the party's defeat in the July 2016 House of Councillors election.