MISAKO YASUI Profile & Policy

• Member, House of Councillors
• (Elected 2010, Aichi Prefecture)

Born: Tokyo, September 11, 1965

Party Affiliation: The Democratic Party and The Shin-Ryokufukai

Education:

• Faculty of Journalism, New York University School of International & Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University, MPA

• (House of Councillors)
  • Member, Committee on Economy and Industry
  • Member, Committee on Audit
  • Director, Special Committee on Official Development Assistance and Relation Matters
  • Member, Research Committee on Deflation-Ending Measures and Strengthening Public Finance for Nationals’ Life
• (Party)
  • Vice Secretary General
  • Vice Chair, Diet Affairs Committee, DPJ Caucus, House of Councillors
  • Director, Public Relations Committee, Aichi Prefectural Headquarters

(As of February 2015)

• Japan currently produces just under 40% of its own food. Protecting the well-being of citizens by ensuring food security is one of the most important responsibilities held by the government.
• Globalization and improved economic partnerships, such as TPP, may lead to lower food self-sufficiency rate. It is, thus, essential to rebuild the primary industries, such as agriculture, fisheries, and farming, and make them sustainable. For that purpose, we need to revise the role of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives to increase productivity and establish the “Individual Income Support System for Agriculture.”
• Furthermore, we must deepen consumer understanding, so that smart decisions are made and that the health of Japanese citizens, as well as Japanese food culture is protected.

• Establishing safe and sustainable energy infrastructure for the next generation is the most important concern in energy policymaking.
• In response to the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant explosion as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japan was forced to remake its energy policy when all 54 domestic nuclear power plants stopped working with no clear date for resuming operations. Securing a stable electricity supply has become our first priority as a result.
• The former DPJ government proposed the “Revolutionary Energy and Environment Strategy,” which aimed to invest every resource in order not to depend on the domestic nuclear power plants’ operation any more by 2030s.
• The Abe Cabinet withdrew this decision. Furthermore, it postponed the decision vis-à-vis Japan’s nuclear policy. Without energy mix decision, it is impossible to properly distribute human resources, materials, and money, and to plan a sustainable energy strategy.
• The DPJ is aiming for a nuclear free society, a green energy revolution and the assurance of stable energy sources as the pillars of a revolutionary energy and environment strategy. In order to work towards these goals, several measures should be taken : the revision of feed-in tariffs (FIT), expansion of renewable energy, replacement of the oil in oil-fired power plants with coal and LNG, and the increase of the efficiency of these oil-fired plants.

• 99.7% of the 4.2-milllion companies in Japan are small and mid-sized businesses. Unless they are sustainable, Japan, which has a regionally-based economy, will not be reenergized. So-called “Abenomics” does not necessarily support small businesses. In fact, the increased price of imported goods and fuel, weak yen, and increased consumption tax negatively impact businesses.
• The DPJ has strived to create policies favoring small business, and as a result, the budget related to small businesses doubled between 2012 and 2014. It has already realized an increase in expense allowance for small businesses with the 2013 Tax Revision, which also reduced the document tax and prohibited third party guarantors.