Minister of State for Special Missions, Cabinet Office, Member of the House of Representatives, Masanobu Ogura

Eliminate friction in the world and make a true contribution to society!

Minister of State for Special Missions, Cabinet Office Member of the House of Representatives　Masanobu Ogura(Masanobu Ogura)

■ Profile
After graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo in 2004, he joined the Bank of Japan. In 2009, he completed a Master's degree in Financial Economics at the University of Oxford. In August 2012, he was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives representing Machida City and Tama City (Tokyo's 23rd electoral district). In August 2017, he became Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications. In October 2021, he became the 52nd Director-General of the Youth Bureau of the Liberal Democratic Party. In the same month, he was elected for a fourth term in the 49th general election of the House of Representatives. In August 2022, he became Minister of State for Special Missions in the Cabinet Office (in charge of child policies, measures to combat the declining birthrate, gender equality, women's empowerment, a symbiotic society, and measures to combat loneliness and isolation).

What made you become a politician?

Ever since I was a student, I had wanted to do a job that would be useful to society and allow me to give something back to society. After graduating from university, I joined the Bank of Japan and continued to work busy days, but at the same time, I began to wonder whether I was being useful to society or whether I was giving something back to society.
At that time, the Liberal Democratic Party was selecting candidates in various places, so I applied for the public election, hoping for the best. I never thought I would be accepted, but since I was given the chance, I decided to quit the Bank of Japan and become a politician. It was truly a desperate situation. I am truly grateful to all the supporters who gave their all in supporting me, a candidate who didn't know what to do at the time.

■Our mission is to eliminate the negative aspects of the world

Political activity is more emotional than you might imagine. If politicians do not have strong feelings and attachment to the future they want to change with their own hands, they will not receive the support of many people. On the other hand, I believe that the work of a Diet member should not be so emotional. That is why, when I consider what the most effective means for the people is, I try to make decisions based on evidence.
Furthermore, the work of a Diet member cannot be done well with armchair theory alone. When proposing new policies, a deep understanding of existing policy areas is essential, but politics does not move forward with sound reasoning alone.
I want to create a society that is more hopeful and bright for Japan's future. To achieve this, we need to quickly eliminate the negative aspects of society.
For example, the reality is that women are unable to balance their careers with childcare. This needs to be resolved through work style reform, such as eliminating long working hours for men and reducing unpaid work hours for women.
By eliminating these "negativity" one by one, we hope to contribute to creating a society where everyone has a variety of choices.

■Please give us a message for university students

I am currently involved in revising job-hunting rules, and in particular, I want to make the internship system more effective as a way for students to achieve self-actualization.
My message to everyone is to take on challenges without being afraid of failure. It's okay to fail as many times as you like, so just go ahead and try.　
I would like to create an environment where many young people can easily take on challenges and try again even if they fail.

Student Newspaper April 1, 2023 Issue Keio University 4rd Year Student Miyu Ito