Muneo Suzuki

Muneo Suzuki (鈴木 宗男 Suzuki Muneo, born 31 January 1948), commonly known simply as "Muneo" due to his common last name, is a Japanese politician from Ashoro, Hokkaido, currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors since 2019, representing the National PR block.^[1]

Early career

He graduated from the Department of Political Science at Takushoku University in 1970, and before he graduated he began working for Ichirō Nakagawa, a Japanese member of the House of Representatives. Nakagawa committed suicide in a hotel in January 1983 for unknown reasons. Suzuki hoped to run for his seat, but Ichirō's son Shōichi Nakagawa, a Tokyo native, moved to Hokkaido to run for his father's seat, and Suzuki successfully ran for a seat in a neighboring district. He was elected in December 1983 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).^[1]

He was appointed Head of the Hokkaido Development Agency and the Okinawa Development Agency in 1997 and later as Vice Minister of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi.^[1]

Scandal and criminal convictions

In 1999, while Suzuki was the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary to the former Prime Minister Obuchi, he pressured the Foreign Ministry to fund the Japanese-Russia Friendship House (nicknamed the "Muneo House" by locals), which became a scandal in 2002 when it was revealed.^[2]

He left the LDP in 2002 and was arrested later that year for suspicion of accepting bribes from two Hokkaido companies.^[3][4][5] He did not run for reelection in the 2003 elections on the stated grounds that he was undergoing surgery to treat stomach cancer. His secretary Akira Miyano was convicted of bribery in 2003,^[6] and Muneo was convicted of taking the bribes, failure to declare political donations, and perjury and sentenced to two years in prison and fined ¥11 million in November 2004. He remained free and in office as he appealed the conviction.

Muneo ran for the House of Councillors in 2004. He was defeated, but ran successfully for the House of Representatives of Japan in the 11 September 2005 elections after forming the New Party Daichi. He is the only elected member of the party.

On 7 September 2010, the Supreme Court of Japan unanimously upheld Suzuki's conviction and sentence. In response, Suzuki stated that he would file a complaint against the ruling. As the complaint was rejected, Suzuki was removed from office and the fine and prison sentence took effect. He was also banned from running for public office for five years after completion of the prison sentence.^[7] Suzuki was paroled on 6 December 2011 after serving one year in prison in Tochigi Prefecture.^[8]

Later career

His ban from public office expired on 30 April 2017, allowing him to run again for election. He ran in the 2017 general election as the head of the NPD list for the Hokkaido PR block but was not elected.^[9] He ran again in the 2019 House of Councillors election on the National PR list for the Nippon Ishin no Kai. He won the most votes on the party's list and was thus elected for the first time since being removed from office in 2010.^[10]

On 11 October 2023, Suzuki resigned from Nippon Ishin no Kai following calls for his expulsion from the party after he visited Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[11] He stated, "I believe in Russia's victory" and "This war occurred because Zelenskyy did not adhere to the Minsk agreements."^[12][13]

Suzuki resigned from the House of Councillors on 20 June 2025. On the same day, he was reinstated as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, rejoining after 23 years. Resignation from the Diet is legally required for switching parties if elected in the proportional block.^[14] On the following day, he announced his candidacy in the proportional block on the LDP list for the 2025 House of Councillors election.^[15] He announced his retirement from politics in the morning of July 21, when he was expected to lose the election. He was elected a few hours later.^[16]

Political positions

• As an elected member of the Hokkaido Assembly, he has been advocating for the rights of the Ainu people.^[17]

References

1. ^ "鈴木　宗男（すずき　むねお）：参議院". www.sangiin.go.jp. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
2. ^ https://www.nhk.or.jp/politics/articles/feature/4567.html
3. ^ "Suzuki faces arrest over lumber bribe | the Japan Times Online". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
4. ^ "Suzuki enters plea of not guilty in court | the Japan Times Online". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
5. ^ "Japanese politician arrested". 19 June 2002. – via news.bbc.co.uk.
6. ^ "Suzuki aide gets suspended term in Kunashiri bid-rigging case | the Japan Times Online". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
7. ^ Kyodo News, "Lawmaker Suzuki loses bribery appeal", Japan Times, 9 September 2010, p. 1.
8. ^ Ito, Masami, "Bribed lawmaker Muneo Suzuki out on parole", Japan Times, 7 December 2011, p. 2.
9. ^ "ja:比例区開票速報：北海道ブロック（定数8）" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
10. ^ "Muneo Suzuki rebounds from cancer, 2010 bribes conviction to win seat in Upper House". The Japan Times. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
11. ^ "Muneo Suzuki quits Nippon Ishin before expulsion". Asahi Shimbun. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
12. ^ "ミンスク合意を守る義務はない、と開き直ったのはゼレンスキー氏ですよ。". News Postseven. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
13. ^ "ウクライナ侵攻をめぐり現地で「ロシアの勝利を確信している」などと発言した". NHK. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
14. ^ "鈴木宗男氏、自民から出馬へ　参院選、議員辞職し復党" (in Japanese). Jiji.com. Jiji Press. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
15. ^ "鈴木宗男氏が参院選出馬表明　「自民党から比例代表、集大成に」" (in Japanese). Nikkei. 21 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
16. ^ "涙の「敗北宣言」から一転 自民・鈴木宗男氏が当確 比例代表：北海道新聞デジタル" (in Japanese). 北海道新聞デジタル. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
17. ^ "アイヌ民族の「権利確立」を 鈴木宗男の１０年" (in Japanese). オピニオンサイト「iRONNA（いろんな）」. Retrieved 2021-01-14.