Renhō

, known mononymously as Renhō, is a Japanese politician and former journalist who has served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2004 to 2024, and again since 2025. She was the leader of the now-defunct major opposition party, the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017. Renhō was a candidate for the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election with the support of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japanese Communist Party (JCP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but was defeated by incumbent Yuriko Koike, placing third behind Shinji Ishimaru.

, known mononymously as Renhō, is a Japanese politician and former journalist who has served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2004 to 2024, and again since 2025. She was the leader of the now-defunct major opposition party, the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017. Renhō was a candidate for the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election with the support of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japanese Communist Party (JCP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but was defeated by incumbent Yuriko Koike, placing third behind Shinji Ishimaru.

Early and personal life

Renhō was born Hsieh Lien-fang ( ) in Tokyo to a Japanese mother Keiko Saitō (斉藤圭子 Saitō Keiko) and Han Taiwanese father Hsieh Ge-hsin (謝哲信 Xiè Zhéxìn). She has two brothers: one is a year older, the other is two years younger. Mark Chen, a Taiwanese politician and former Secretary-General of the Office of the President of the Republic of China, is a distant relative of hers. She studied at Aoyama Gakuin in Tokyo from kindergarten through university. She enrolled in the law faculty of Aoyama Gakuin University and graduated in 1990 with the B.L. degree in Public Law. Born as a citizen of Taiwan, she did not become a citizen of Japan until 1985¹ when Japanese nationality law was amended to allow Japanese mothers to pass Japanese nationality to their children. She was legally a dual citizen until 2016. She adopted her mother's surname, , when she acquired Japanese citizenship; to avoid name confusion in her career, she began to go simply by Renhō. After her debut as a Clarion Girl in 1988, Renhō appeared on several television and radio programs as a commentator. In 1993, she became a newscaster on TBS and TV Asahi, covering several historical events including the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995, sometimes alongside Sanae Takaichi. She was married in 1993. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and had also studied it at Peking University in Beijing, China, from 1995 to 1997. Renhō returned to television in 2000, anchoring and reporting on several TBS programs. She reported from Taiwan during Chen Shui-bian's presidential campaign, which brought her to the attention of Taiwanese political leaders. In Taiwan, she is often referred to as Lien-fang, the Standard Chinese pronunciation of her given name.

Political career

In July 2004, Renhō was elected to the House of Councillors representing Tokyo as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. Since election, she has been heavily involved in parenting issues and policies. Renhō has criticized Japan's diplomacy with the People's Republic of China and its refusal to recognize Taiwan, stating that "Japan is too polite when dealing with China, taking a low profile" and "Taiwan is my father's country. Why isn't Taiwan a country?" Since taking office, she has traveled to Taiwan several times on official and unofficial business, garnering extensive public and media attention, and has become close to senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378232531 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.