Mineo Kaneda

Mineo Kaneda (金田 峰生, Kaneda Mineo, born 25 August 1965) is a politician from Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan who represents the Japanese Communist Party. He has served one term in the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly and contested several local and national elections.

Mineo Kaneda
金田峰生
Member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly for Nishi Ward
In office
April 1999 – April 2003
Serving with Shuzo Ishihara, Yoshifumi Sugio
Succeeded byHidetake Ishii
Personal details
Born (1965-08-25) August 25, 1965
Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture
Political partyJapanese Communist Party
ResidenceNishi Ward, Kobe
EducationBachelor of Social Welfare
Alma materNihon Fukushi University

Early life and career

Kaneda was born in Kobe, Japan on 25 August 1965. After graduating high school he attended Nihon Fukushi University and completed a bachelor's degree in social welfare.[1] After graduation he was employed at the Hyogo Medical Practitioners Association, where he was involved in getting cataract surgery added as a procedure covered by the prefecture's health insurance.[2]

Political career

Kaneda first developed an interest in politics when a charter bus carrying Nihon Fukushi University students plunged into the Sai River in January 1985, killing the two drivers, a teacher and 22 first-year students. The cause of the accident was determined as driver fatigue due to being overworked. Kaneda, who was also a first-year student at the time, felt anger at a society that prioritised profit over human life, and felt it necessary to value the dignity of human life.[2]

In April 1999 Kaneda successfully contested the three-seat district of Nishi-ku in the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly as a candidate for the Japanese Communist Party. Whilst in the assembly he left his mark on the prefecture's healthcare system, identifying problems within the system for subsidising healthcare for the elderly, which the prefecture was in the process of reviewing at the time.[2] He sought a second term in the April 2003 election but finished fourth in the race for three seats, falling 3,647 votes behind fellow incumbent Yoshihide Sugio.[3]

During his political career Kaneda has become the face of the Communist Party within Hyogo Prefecture. He has contested a total of four prefectural assembly elections, two national House of Representatives elections and one gubernatorial election.[2] He also contested the July 2013 House of Councillors election, where he finished fourth out of seven candidates in the Hyogo at-large district, having received 9.6% of the vote.[4] Kanada will contest the district for a second time at the July 2016 election.[1] A 2015 revision of the Public Officers Election Law has increased the representation of the Hyogo district from four to Councillors to six, meaning three will be elected in 2016, compared to two in 2013.[5]

References
  1. "立候補者" [Candidates] (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. Wakabayashi, Mikio (27 June 2016). "金田峰生さん（５０）【共産党・新】利潤最優先の社会に憤り" [Mineo Kaneda (50) [Communist Party - never elected] Anger at a society prioritising profit] (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. "平成15年執行兵庫県議会議員選挙の記録" [2003 Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Election Records: Chapter 6 - Results] (PDF). Hyogo Prefecture Electoral Commission. 13 April 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  4. "選挙区 兵庫 選挙結果 参議院選挙（参院選）2013" [Hyogo at-large district election results, 2013 House of Councillors election]. Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  5. "Upper House districts set for shake-up after electoral reform laws pass Diet". Japan Times. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
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