Kenichiro Saito, Member of the House of Councillors

Aiming for a world where honest people are not fooled, I want to become a politician that children look up to.

Member of the House of Councilors　齊藤健一郎(Kenichiro Saito)

■ Profile
Born December 25th, 1980 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture. A member of the Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School baseball team, he graduated from the Department of Law, Faculty of Law, Nara Sangyo University. After working as a company employee, he took over a restaurant business in 2006, and later founded aquaLstyle Co., Ltd. In 2017, he became Takafumi Horie's driver and secretary in charge of activities. He was elected in March 2023 following the expulsion of House of Councillors member Garcy. #MySecretaryIsHoriemon

With his unique catchphrase, "Successor to Garcy, Secretary to Horiemon, Member of the House of Councillors, 48 ​​Women Politicians, Kenichiro Saito's Thank You! Channel," Representative Saito continues to bring a big smile to his 2 YouTube viewers. We take a closer look at the kind of politician Representative Saito aspires to be, the behind-the-scenes story of his election as the successor to former Diet member Garcy, which caused a stir in March of this year, and the reality of the political world.

I was a baseball-focused student throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and always got into college on a baseball recommendation. I also got into university on a recommendation, but since I'd been playing baseball under strict supervision up until high school, I didn't like the in-between situation of college baseball, which wasn't as controlled, but also didn't have the freedom. I also wanted to become independent as soon as possible, so I quit baseball in May of my freshman year and spent my days immersed in part-time jobs, such as working part-time at the opening of Gusto, doing delivery work at Pizza-La, and working as a lifeguard at a pool.

■The path to becoming a politician and the behind-the-scenes story of his successor's election

I've had three mentors in my life. My first mentor was the president of Aqua Cafe. I met him while visiting cafes, and I intuitively knew I could become a president if I followed him. I applied for a part-time job there and then, eventually serving as an employee and manager. The president told me that job hunting would be a learning experience, so I applied to 20-30 companies, but was rejected by all of them. I guess he saw through my desire to become a cafe president. Later, at age 25, I bought a cafe company, which became a popular and talked-about establishment, expanding my network. By chance, I met my second mentor, Horiemon, through an introduction. At the time, he was running an email newsletter business and an online salon, while I was beginning to develop a desire to become a politician. The catalyst for this was Toru Hashimoto. Watching Hashimoto speak freely, I thought, "The world of politics is changing. In the future, politicians will be able to speak in their own words." I knew that one day, politics would become a career that children aspire to, and I wanted to be a politician myself. While working as a driver for Horiemon, who has a wide network of contacts, he was introduced to many politicians, and that's when he met his third mentor, Takashi Tachibana. Tachibana had been appealing to Horiemon for many years to return to politics. Horiemon had no intention of doing so, so he handed me over to him, as he was aiming to become a politician. This is where my election campaign began.
The deciding election was the 2022 House of Councillors election. The House of Councillors election has a special quota that allows the party to hand over seats it has won to specific members. However, with Saito's low profile, he would not be able to gather enough votes to win a single seat, meaning he would not meet the requirements for a national tax-paying party. So, who could gather votes in Saito's place? Garcy emerged. Using his momentum to gather votes for the party, Tachibana thought, "We can send Saito into politics!" Thinking this, he simply asked Garcy, "Would you run for office if we offered to give you 300 million yen from the party?" Since Garcy was deeply in debt and had no money, he readily agreed, and I won as planned. At this point, I was the fourth-highest vote-getter among the candidates on the proportional representation list for the House of Councillors. Taro Yamamoto came in second, and Atsuhiko Kurokawa came in third.
The votes that led to Garcy's election are not seats won by any individual, but rather seats won by Takashi Tachibana's party. Tachibana's plan was to send Kenichiro Saito to the Diet. Ultimately, he wanted to gain the support of Takafumi Horie, who was behind Saito. Tachibana told me at a press conference, "I want you to leave the party so I can give your seat to Saito." That's how I was elected to replace Garcy. Currently, my focus is on parliamentary activities. There are plenary sessions or committee meetings two to three times a week, where I express my support or opposition to bills and prepare questions for ministers and government officials. I also pick through the numerous instructions sent by Horiemon and present them to the government. I convey to the Diet the real voices of the people about social issues that Horiemon picks up from his real life.

■ The politicians and parliament that young people want to aspire to

We are all united under the slogan "Let's create a world where honest people are not fooled." I originally became a politician because I admired the way Toru Hashimoto spoke in his own words, so as a politician, I always reveal everything without hiding anything. This is embodied in my YouTube broadcasts. I'm not the type to get depressed easily, so I simply enjoy broadcasting every day. Do you know why YouTubers are a dream job for children? It's because everyone seems to have fun. Politicians are a profession no one wants to pursue because they don't look like they're having fun. In other words, if it looks fun, children will admire it = it becomes more competitive = it attracts talented people.
Ideally, the Diet should be filled with talented people who can run the country. That's why we need to increase our competitiveness, but today's politicians are crushing young talent by saying, "You should quit politics. It's going to be hard for inexperienced kids like you to be exposed to the public." And they're creating a system that makes it easy for them to get elected.
To change this situation, I would like to promote a policy to lower the voting age. Currently, there's very little difference in ability between you and me. A generation ago, knowledge and experience gained over the course of 10 years made a big difference, and there was a huge gap. However, in today's IT society, when the knowledge of young people, who have a high rate of absorption, surpasses our experience, the gap in ability will almost disappear. For example, here are the materials from the G4 Digital Technology Ministers' Meeting held on April 30th of this year. You probably wouldn't think anything of it, but when Diet members in their 60s look at these materials, they turn away in disbelief. They're filled with incomprehensible technical terms. If people start studying IT at the same time now, the growth rates for those in their 20s and 60s are overwhelmingly higher. Denying voting rights simply because of young age is not a democracy that truly reflects the will of the people. To ensure that young people's voices are heard, I'm focusing on growing my YouTube presence and increasing my influence.

■Message to university students

When looking for a job, please consider politics as one of your options. You may not be able to run for office yet, but you still have the right to vote. When the voting age is lowered, you will be the ones to pull me down and move the country forward. Please consider a career in politics.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on May 2, 2023 by Yui Takemura, a fourth-year student at Senshu University