Kōji Omi

Koji Omi
尾身 幸次
Official portrait, 1997
Minister of Finance
In office 26 September 2006 – 27 August 2007
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Sadakazu Tanigaki
Succeeded by	Fukushiro Nukaga
Head of the Economic Planning Agency
In office 11 September 1997 – 30 July 1998
Prime Minister	Ryutaro Hashimoto
Preceded by	Taro Aso
Succeeded by	Taichi Sakaiya
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 19 December 1983 – 21 July 2009
Constituency	Former Gunma 1st (1983–1996) Gunma 1st (1996–2000; 2003–2005) Northern Kanto PR (2000–2003; 2005–2009)
Personal details
Born	(1932-12-14)14 December 1932 Numata, Gunma, Japan
Died	14 April 2022(2022-04-14) (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Alma mater	Hitotsubashi University

Omi with Martín Varsavsky at STS in Kyoto

Kōji Omi (尾身 幸次, Omi Kōji, 14 December 1932 – 14 April 2022) was a Japanese politician most notable for serving as Minister of Finance in the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Personal life

Kōji Omi was born in Numata, Gunma Prefecture on 14 December 1932. He attended Hitotsubashi University, where he graduated with a degree in Commerce.^{[citation needed]}

He died on 14 April 2022, at the age of 89.^[1]

Political career

Omi started his career in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry where he later served as consul general of Japan in New York City and as the Director of the Small Business Administration. He was elected to the House of Representatives of the National Diet in 1983.

In 1997, Omi was appointed as the Director of the Economic Planning Agency. He briefly acted as a Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi between 2001 and 2002.^[2][1] He was on a diplomatic mission to the United States during the 11 September 2001 attacks.^{[citation needed]} Between 2006 and 2007, he served as the Minister of Finance under Shinzō Abe. Omi supported increases in the national consumption tax, although Abe distanced himself from this policy and sought to achieve much of his budget balancing through spending cuts.^[3]

He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service by the University of Cambodia in 2007^[4] and was awarded the first honorary doctorate by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in 2018.^[5]

Other work

• Founder and Chairman, Science and Technology in Society Forum, 2004.^[2][6]
• Board member, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 2014 to 2021.^[1]

References

1. "Remembering a Visionary: Koji Omi Connected Okinawa with Science and Technology". oist.jp. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
2. "Founding Chairman Koji Omi". STSforum. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
3. Japan's Abe Unexpectedly Names Omi Finance Minister, Bloomberg.com, 26 September 2006.
4. "Welcome to The University of Cambodia (UC)". uc.edu.kh. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
5. "In honor of his efforts and achievements, OIST awarded Mr. Koji Omi its first honorary doctorate degree at the first graduation ceremony in 2018". Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
6. Omi, Koji (22 December 2014). "Constructing a Global Science Forum". Science & Diplomacy. 3 (4). Retrieved 18 June 2015.

Political offices
Preceded by Tarō Asō	Head of the Economic Planning Agency 1997–1998	Succeeded by Taichi Sakaiya
Preceded by Takashi Sasagawa	Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy 2001–2002	Succeeded by Hiroyuki Hosoda
Preceded by Ryutaro Hashimoto	Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs 2001–2002
Preceded by Sadakazu Tanigaki	Minister of Finance 2006–2007	Succeeded by Fukushiro Nukaga
House of Representatives (Japan)
Preceded by Shosuke Miyachi	Chair, Financial Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of Japan 1995	Succeeded by Fumio Kyūma