Yukio Edano

is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from its formation in 2017 until 2021. A member of the House of Representatives in the Diet since 1993, he served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government from 2010 to 2012. Following the CDP's poor performance in the 2021 general election, Edano announced on 2 November his intention to resign as leader of the party, triggering a leadership election. Early life Edano was born in Utsunomiya on 31 May 1964. He is named after Japanese progressive liberal political figure Yukio Ozaki, who Edano's father admired. Edano graduated from Tohoku University with a degree in law, and passed the Japanese bar examination at the age of 24. Political career In the 1993 general election, at the age of 29, Edano joined Morihiro Hosokawa's Japan New Party and won a seat in the Saitama 5th district. He participated in the formation of the DPJ in 1996.