is a Japanese politician.
He is a politician of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Mitsugi District, Hiroshima and graduate of Keio University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000 as a member of Ichirà  Ozawa's Liberal Party after running unsuccessfully in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party. After the Liberal Party merged with the DPJ, he won the 2003 re-election but lost the 2005 re-election. In 2007, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time.