Yoshimasa Hayashi | |
|---|---|
林 芳正 | |
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications | |
| Assumed office 21 October 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Sanae Takaichi |
| Preceded by | Seiichiro Murakami |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 14 December 2023 – 21 October 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida Shigeru Ishiba |
| Preceded by | Hirokazu Matsuno |
| Succeeded by | Minoru Kihara |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 10 November 2021 – 13 September 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida |
| Preceded by | Fumio Kishida |
| Succeeded by | Yoko Kamikawa |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | |
| In office 3 August 2017 – 2 October 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe |
| Preceded by | Hirokazu Matsuno |
| Succeeded by | Masahiko Shibayama |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | |
| In office 23 February 2015 – 7 October 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe |
| Preceded by | Koya Nishikawa |
| Succeeded by | Hiroshi Moriyama |
| In office 26 December 2012 – 3 September 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe |
| Preceded by | Akira Gunji |
| Succeeded by | Koya Nishikawa |
| Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy | |
| In office 2 July 2009 – 16 September 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Taro Aso |
| Preceded by | Kaoru Yosano |
| Succeeded by | Naoto Kan |
| Minister of Defense | |
| In office 2 August 2008 – 24 September 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Yasuo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Succeeded by | Yasukazu Hamada |
| |
| Assumed office 3 November 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Takeo Kawamura |
| |
| In office 24 July 1995 – 16 August 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Ken'ichi Yamada |
| Succeeded by | Tsuneo Kitamura |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1961-01-19)19 January 1961 (age 65) Shimonoseki, Japan |
| Party | Liberal Democratic |
| Spouse | Yuko Hayashi |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Yoshiro Hayashi (father) Mariko Hayashi (mother) |
| Relatives | Reiko Hayashi (sister) Keisuke Hayashi (paternal grandfather) Heishiro Hayashi (great-great-grandfather) Katsusada Hirose (uncle-in-law) |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo (LLB) Harvard University (MPA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
Yoshimasa Hayashi (林 芳正,Hayashi Yoshimasa; born 19 January 1961) is a Japanese politician who has been serving asMinister for Internal Affairs and Communications since October 2025. Hayashi previously held six cabinet positions:Minister of Defence (August–September 2008), Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy (July–September 2009),Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (December 2012 – September 2014, February–October 2015),Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (August 2017 – October 2018), andMinister of Foreign Affairs (November 2021 – September 2023), andChief Cabinet Secretary (December 2023 – October 2025).
A member of theLiberal Democratic Party, Hayashi was first elected to theHouse of Councillors in 1995, where he served for five terms until 2021. He resigned from the House to stand in the2021 general election and has been serving as a member of theHouse of Representatives, representing theYamaguchi 3rd district, since October 2021.
Hayashi was born on 19 January 1961 inTokyo to Yoshiro and Yoneko Hayashi. His father,Yoshiro Hayashi, was a senior bureaucrat at theMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry.[1] The family moved to their ancestral home inShimonoseki, Yamaguchi, when Yoshiro stood in the32nd General Election in 1969, after which he successfully started his political career representing the Yamaguchi first constituency. Hayashi graduated from Shimonoseki-Nishi High School in 1979 and matriculated at theUniversity of Tokyo.[2] At university, he chose to study public law at the Shingaku Furiwake (the specialisation selection process in the middle of the second year) and graduated from theFaculty of Law in 1984. At the university, he was a member of the university choir as well as a rock band.[3]
Initially, Hayashi had no intention of following in his father's footsteps as a member of parliament.[4] Instead, he joinedMitsui & Co., rather than pursuing a career in one of the government ministries, which was the typical path for someone of his political and educational background. However, a brief posting toNicaragua to renew tobacco contracts exposed him to the effects of theongoing civil war, which made him realise the importance of a stable government.[4] He also had several overseas postings, one of which was inNorth Carolina, United States, a major source of tobacco for Mitsui at the time.[5]
He decided to pursue a political career and resigned from his role at Mitsui in 1989. He married Yuko Hayashi in 1990, who also attended the University of Tokyo and graduated in 1988.[6] He started studying public policy atHarvard Kennedy School, while his wife studied for a master's degree in technology policy atMassachusetts Institute of Technology.[6] Both universities are located inCambridge, Massachusetts, United States. In the United States, he also worked as a staffer for U.S. RepresentativeStephen L. Neal and U.S. SenatorWilliam V. Roth, Jr. As the latter's staffer, he initiatedMansfield Fellowship Program.[7]
Hayashi entered politics as a secretary to his father,Yoshiro Hayashi, when he was appointedMinister of Finance in theMiyazawa Cabinet after the first reshuffle in December 1992. Hayashi was elected to theHouse of Councillors for the first time in 1995. He represents the fourth generation of politicians in his family. He focused on administrative and tax reform in the early years of his political career.[8] He joined theKōchikai faction in theLiberal Democratic Party, which has traditionally held moderate conservative views, with an emphasis on economic prosperity, liberal values, and international cooperation, opposing the reliance on nationalism as an ideology. Both his father and former prime ministerKiichi Miyazawa belonged to this faction. He was appointed Parliamentary Vice Minister of Finance (大蔵政務次官) in October 1999, under Miyazawa, who was serving as Minister of Finance in theObuchi Cabinet.[2]
Hayashi was appointed to the Cabinet for the first time asMinister of Defence on 1 August 2008, when there was a reshuffle of theFukuda Cabinet.[9] However, Fukuda resigned on 24 September 2008, and Hayashi was replaced byYasukazu Hamada.[10] After his party became the main opposition party in the2009 general election, he served as the Shadow Minister of Finance.[1] He stood in the2012 LDP presidential election, which was held just before a landslide victory in the2012 general election allowed his party to return to power, but the eventual winner wasShinzo Abe. He was refused support by one MP who told him, 'The prime minister should belong to the Lower House because an Upper House premier does not risk his seat when calling an election'.[11]
In theSecond Abe Cabinet, which was formed on 26 December 2012, Hayashi was appointedMinister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.[12][13] He remained in this role until 3 September 2014, when theThird Abe Cabinet was formed. When his successorKoya Nishikawa had to resign from his office following a scandal, Hayashi was asked to return to the ministry and served again as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 23 February 2015 to 7 October 2015. With a shrinking domestic market, many of the agricultural policies under his leadership focused on making the industry more export-oriented. He promoted the 'FBI' strategy, which means promoting authentic cuisinefrom Japan overseas, fostering food businessesby Japanese companies overseas, and exporting foods madein Japan.[14] Food exports from Japan, which had remained stagnant at around 450 billion yen annually until 2012, increased to 745 billion yen by 2015.[15]
He was appointedMinister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on 3 August 2017 in a reshuffle of the Third Abe Cabinet. He remained in this position in theFourth Abe Cabinet, which was formed in November the same year. He served until the Cabinet reshuffle in October 2018.[16]
Hayashi held a press conference on 15 July 2021 and announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2021 general election, which meant switching to the Lower House.[17] He resigned from the House of Councillors on 16 August 2021.[18] He faced opposition from the then-serving MP for Yamaguchi 3rd constituency,Takeo Kawamura, who was initially expected to remain the official LDP candidate with the backing of his faction leader,Toshihiro Nikai. On 29 September,Fumio Kishida, who also belongs to theKōchikai faction and shares similar political views with Hayashi, won the2021 LDP presidential election and became prime minister. Following this, the LDP’s Yamaguchi Local Committee asked to make Hayashi the official candidate, and after being persuaded by Akira Amari, who showed him secret survey results indicating Hayashi was more than twice as popular as Kawamura in the constituency, Kawamura decided not to stand in the election.[19] As the official LDP candidate, Hayashi won 77% of the votes and became a member of the House of Representatives.[20]
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In November 2021 he was appointed as theMinister for Foreign Affairs in theSecond Kishida Cabinet. Hayashi was the first Japanese foreign minister to attend aNATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels in April 2022.[21][22]
Hayashi left cabinet in the September 2023 reshuffle and became subcommittee chairman of the LDP Tax Commission, but in December he returned to cabinet asChief Cabinet Secretary after the resignation ofHirokazu Matsuno.[23][24]
On 3 September 2024, Hayashi announced his campaign forLDP leadership.[25] He lost and was eliminated in the first round voting with 8.84% of votes, ranking the fourth. New Prime MinisterShigeru Ishiba retained Hayashi as Chief Cabinet Secretary in his cabinet.
On October 21, 2025, he was appointedMinister of Internal Affairs and Communications in theTakaichi Cabinet.
He likeskaraoke and golf. He plays the guitar and keyboard with LDP colleagues in a band calledGi!nz [ja].[8]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Defense 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2012–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Cabinet Secretary 2023–2025 | Succeeded by |
| House of Councillors | ||
| Preceded by | Councillor forYamaguchi at-large district 1995–2021 | Succeeded by |
| House of Representatives (Japan) | ||
| Preceded by | Representative forYamaguchi 3rd district 2021–present | Incumbent |
| Defense Agency Director General |
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| Minister of Defense |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
