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Bunmei Ibuki
伊吹 文明
Official portrait, 2006
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office 26 December 2012 – 21 November 2014
Monarch	Akihito
Preceded by	Takahiro Yokomichi
Succeeded by	Nobutaka Machimura
67th Minister of Finance
In office 2 August 2008 – 24 September 2008
Prime Minister	Yasuo Fukuda
Preceded by	Fukushiro Nukaga
Succeeded by	Shōichi Nakagawa
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In office 26 September 2006 – 26 September 2007
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Kenji Kosaka
Succeeded by	Kisaburo Tokai
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 19 December 1983 – 14 October 2021
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Yasushi Katsume [ja]
Constituency	Former Kyoto 1st (1983–1996) Kyoto 1st (1996–2009, 2012–2021) Kinki PR (2009–2012)
Personal details
Born	(1938-01-09) 9 January 1938 (age 86) Kyoto, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Alma mater	Kyoto University

Bunmei Ibuki (伊吹 文明, Ibuki Bunmei, born 9 January 1938) is a retired Japanese politician who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2012 to 2014.

Early life and career

He was born in Kyoto to a family of textile wholesalers who had operated the business since the Edo period. He graduated with a BA from Kyoto University's economics department in 1960. At Kyoto University he was a member of the tennis club. Upon graduation Ibuki became a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance. He was dispatched to the Japanese embassy in London in 1965, where he stayed for four years.

Political career

Ibuki entered politics in 1983 at former Finance Minister Michio Watanabe's behest. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and has served in a variety of government positions, including Minister of Labour (1997~98) and National Public Safety Commission chairman (2000~01).

He was appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on 26 September 2006 as a part of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's first cabinet. In this position, he promoted the controversial revision of the Fundamental Law of Education. He was subsequently appointed as Secretary-General of the LDP in September 2007; less than a year later, he was replaced in that position by Taro Aso and was instead appointed as Minister of Finance. He is known for his knowledge of finance and tax and welfare policies. He held the post of Finance Minister for less than two months, however, and was replaced by Shōichi Nakagawa in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008.

On 26 December 2012, Bunmei Ibuki was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan. He presided over the day of his inauguration, the election of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.

Personal life

• Ibuki is a fluent English speaker. He is a member of the openly revisionist lobby Nippon Kaigi, and affiliated to the fundamentalist shinto lobby Shinto Seiji Renmei Kokkai Giin Kondankai (神道政治連盟国会議員懇談会).
• Ibuki is nicknamed "Ibu-King" due to his enduring political influence despite his now-advanced age.

Election history

Honours

•  Japan: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (29 April 2022)
•  Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (29 October 2014)

References

1. Prime Minister of Japan official website - "Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology", retrieved 24 September 2007.
2. Ibuki official website; accessed 24 September 2007. (in Japanese)
3. "Fukuda appoints Ibuki as secretary-general, Tanigaki as policy chief", Mainichi Daily News, 24 September 2007.
4. "Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2" Archived 2008-10-16 at archive.today, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 August 2008.
5. ^ Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", 3 August 2008.
6. "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2" Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 September 2008.
7. Nippon Kaigi website - 5 years: nipponkaigi.org/voice/5years - 10 years: nipponkaigi.org/about/10years
8. "２０１２年衆議院議員選挙：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-23.
9. "2014衆院選 | 衆議院選挙 | 選挙アーカイブス | NHK選挙WEB". www.nhk.or.jp. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
10. 日本放送協会. "2017衆院選 | 衆議院選挙 | 選挙データベース | NHK選挙WEB". www.nhk.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-23.
11. "伊吹文明（イブキブンメイ）｜政治家情報｜選挙ドットコム". 選挙ドットコム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-11-23.
12. "伊吹文明 | 第48回衆議院議員選挙 2017 京都1区". 政治山. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
13. "伊吹文明 | 選挙結果（衆議院） | 国会議員白書". kokkai.sugawarataku.net. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
14. 皇居で春の大綬章親授式　伊吹元衆院議長ら１８人 (Spring Grand Ribbon Ceremony at the Imperial Palace, Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Ibuki and 18 others) - website of Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun
15. Decoraties Staatsbezoeken Japan en Republiek Korea Archived 2014-11-04 at the Wayback Machine - website of the Dutch Royal House

External links

• Discussions on Japanese politics and education (Streaming and mp3)

• 1938 births
• Living people
• Culture ministers of Japan
• Education ministers of Japan
• Government ministers of Japan
• Ministers of finance of Japan
• Japanese Shintoists
• Kyoto University alumni
• Labor ministers of Japan
• Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
• Members of Nippon Kaigi
• People from Kyoto
• Politicians from Kyoto Prefecture
• Science ministers of Japan
• Speakers of the House of Representatives (Japan)
• Sports ministers of Japan
• Technology ministers of Japan
• Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005
• Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2012–2014
• Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2014–2017
• Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2017–2021