Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Ryota Takeda

If you want to master that field, you have to become so absorbed in it that you lose sight of what's going on around you!

■ Profile

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1968. Graduated from the Department of English Literature, Faculty of Letters, Waseda University in 1992. Secretary to House of Representatives member Shizuka Kamei in 1992. First elected in the 2003 House of Representatives election in Fukuoka's 11th district, he has been re-elected for six consecutive terms since. Director of the House of Representatives' Judicial Affairs Committee in 2007. Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense in 2008. Director of the House of Representatives' Special Committee on Countering Acts of Piracy, Preventing International Terrorism, and Japan's Cooperation and Support Activities in 2009. Director of the LDP's Campaign Bureau in 2010. Chairman of the LDP Fukuoka Prefecture Chapter Association in 2001. Chairman of the LDP's National Defense Division in 2012. Chairman of the House of Representatives' Security Committee in 2012. State Minister of Defense in 2013. Director of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee in 2014. Secretary-General of the LDP's Sports Nation Research Committee in 2015. Special Assistant to the LDP Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General in 2016. In 2016, he served as a director of the House of Representatives Budget Administration Oversight Committee. In 2016, he served as the Chief Deputy Director of the LDP Regional Revitalization Implementation Integrated Headquarters. In 2017, he served as the Deputy Director of the LDP Headquarters for Countermeasures against North Korea's Nuclear Tests and Missile Issues. In 2018, he served as the Deputy Chairman of the LDP Security Research Council.

■ What was your student life like?

I don't want to say this out loud, but I don't really remember studying or participating in club activities during my university days. I never thought about becoming a company employee or a civil servant after graduating from university. I cherished traveling and spending time with friends. In the process, I was able to meet many different people, and I think I had experiences that could only be had as a student. I made some mistakes, but those were also good experiences.

■ What led you to enter politics?

　My uncle was a politician, so I was interested in the world of politics. What made me decide to pursue this path was becoming a secretary to Shizuka Kamei. It was fate. It took 10 years from my first run for office to my election, but looking back on that time, I feel more that it was fun than that it was difficult.
　I have lost three elections in the last 10 years. However, I felt that the number of my supporters was increasing dramatically with each election. Even if I didn't win, I enjoyed the idea that I was steadily getting closer to becoming a politician. It was a fulfilling experience. It was a valuable time where I was able to throw myself into everything and learn things with my body.

■ What are the rewards and challenges of your work?

No two people in the world share the same opinion, and it is a headache for politicians to bring together a wide variety of opinions and create laws.
We are all concerned about our money tomorrow and our lives a year from now. But as politicians, we have issues we must address now for the future of Japan. Even if we are criticized by the public, we must continue to do so. There is a conflict there.
On the other hand, there are times when I feel that, after all those hardships, what I have done has been able to shed light on people. At times like that, I feel joy as a politician.
Also, when you are involved in politics, you realize that there is no one who is unnecessary. Politics cannot be done without the help of many different people. In order to solve all kinds of problems, it is necessary to interact with people with many different values.
That's why I think it's important to find out how to discover a person's strengths, talents, and good points.

■ Message to university students

Your student years are your last chance to do what you want to do. There's no need to be bound by stereotypes or follow existing paths. So it might be a good idea to take a look at other countries.
I think it's important to try things that interest you. I'm sure it will be useful in the future.

From the October 1, 2020 issue of the Student Newspaper (by Yasumasa Nogami, second-year student at Komazawa University)