lit a candle 5h agoRead about the 2016 Supreme Court ruling in his favour during a media law seminar in Nairobi, our lecturer used it as the example of a politician actually winning against a big newspaper. Stuck with me for years. 81 is a full life. Rest well, sir.
Their story
Nobutaka Tsutsui was a Japanese politician, tax accountant and lawyer who served five terms in the House of Representatives and was senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the Democratic Party of Japan governments of 2010 to 2012. Born on 10 November 1944 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and raised…
Nobutaka Tsutsui was a Japanese politician, tax accountant and lawyer who served five terms in the House of Representatives and was senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the Democratic Party of Japan governments of 2010 to 2012. Born on 10 November 1944 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and raised with roots in Nakakubiki District (later Joetsu), Niigata, he graduated from Waseda University, entered national politics from the Japan Socialist Party, and later sat for Niigata's 6th district as a Democrat. He died in Tokyo on 1 October 2026 at the age of 81.
Tsutsui first ran unsuccessfully in 1986, then won the old Niigata 4th district for the Socialists in 1990. After a 1993 defeat and a near-miss as an independent in 1996, he returned in 2000 under the Democratic Party of Japan banner for Niigata 6th and held the seat through the 2003, 2005 and 2009 general elections. In the Diet he chaired the House Committee on Audit and Administrative Oversight (2005-2006) and the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2009-2010). He was appointed senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in September 2010 and reappointed in September 2011, serving alongside colleagues under the Kan and Noda cabinets until 2012.
In 2012 the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that he had leaked confidential information to a Chinese agricultural enterprise. Tsutsui sued for libel. Japanese courts awarded him damages, culminating in a 2016 Supreme Court decision that left standing findings that the newspaper's allegations were not proven true. He lost Niigata 6th in the December 2012 election and later announced his retirement from electoral politics. In spring 2015 he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (Kyokujitsu Juko-sho).
After leaving the front bench he remained linked to opposition politics in Niigata, including a period as an adviser to the Constitutional Democratic Party's prefectural federation before leaving that party in 2021. His son-in-law Mamoru Umetani also served in the House of Representatives. Tsutsui published books on family law, biomass policy and political conflict. Niigata press, including the Niigata Nippo, reported that he died in Tokyo at 5:44 a.m. on 1 October 2026. Obituaries remembered a five-term Niigata lawmaker and former agriculture vice minister whose career spanned Socialist, Democratic and later independent affiliations.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); Japanese Wikipedia; Niigata Nippo; Joetsu Town Journal; Kantei profile.
Photos
1Nobutaka Tsutsui as Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
by People Forever
That case got cited a lot outside Japan too, good example.