is a former Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, who served as a member of both the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of KÃ Âsei Town (today's Konan City, Shiga Prefecture) and dropout of Ritsumeikan University, he was elected to the town assembly of KÃ Âsei, Shiga (serving for one term), to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly in 1979 (serving for four terms) and to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1995.