Toshihiro Nikai

Toshihiro Nikai (Japanese二阶 俊 博, Toshihiro Nikai, born February 17, 1939 in Gobō, Wakayama Prefecture) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP), a member of the lower house and former ministers. Within the LDP, he leads since 2012 the former Ibuki, now Nikai faction. Previously, he was from 2003 to 2009 Chairman of the Atarashii Nami ( " New Wave " ) from former members of the Conservative Party.

Nikai studied law at Chuo University. He then worked as a secretary of a LDP lower house deputies from Shizuoka. After his death, he returned to Wakayama and ran successfully in 1975 for a seat in Parliament Prefecture. In 1983 he was elected as a candidate of the Tanaka faction for the 2nd electoral district of the prefecture in Japanese lower house. After the electoral reform in 1994, it represents the single constituency Wakayama 3, he won six times.

Toshihiro Nikai in 1990 was State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport in the Cabinet of Toshiki Kaifu. When in 1992, after a series of scandals split the former Tanaka faction under Noboru Takeshita, Nikai moved to the Forum 21 by Tsutomu Hata and Ichiro Ozawa and followed them a year later in the renewal of the party. The LDP lost by the party spills its parliamentary majority, which was confirmed by subsequent elections. In the new government without LDP Nikai was again Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport. After the overthrow of the governments of Hosokawa and Hata and the return of the LDP in the government he followed Ozawa first in the New Progressive Party, and thus in the opposition, then in the Liberal Party. He was re-formed in the second Obuchi Cabinet Ministers and Head of the Authority for the development of Hokkaido in 1999. After the Liberal Party left the coalition government of Keizo Obuchi after interim participation again, Nikai joined the Conservative Party of Takeshi Noda, the government continued the cooperation with the LDP, and he kept his two ministerial posts. After the election Yoshirō Moris as Prime Minister in April 2000, was taken over as transport minister and head of the adopted authority for the development of Hokkaido, in Mori's second Cabinet but was replaced in July. In 2003 he returned to the LDP, where he founded his own faction with the other former members of the New Conservative Party. The former Nikai faction existed until November 2009, when they decimated by LDP electoral defeat in the general election of 2009, the Ibuki faction joined.

In the 3rd Koizumi Cabinet Nikai was from 2005 to 2006 Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. At the instigation of the party chairman Yasuo Fukuda Nikai was Chairman of the Executive Council (総 务 会, Somu -kai ) of the LDP. In a cabinet reshuffle in August 2008 Fukuda Nikai again appointed Minister of Economics, successor as Chairman of the Sōmukai was Takashi Sasagawa ( Tsushima faction ). He remained until the resignation of the Cabinet Asō in September 2009 Minister.