Japan's Komeito leader says he was born a third-generation Korean resident
Version 2: A second business outlet, Asia Economy, has added detail on Okamoto's schooling in Saga Prefecture, his 1989 Soka University graduation, his Citibank start the same year, an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg school and the number of his visits to Korea; the core disclosure that he was born a third-generation Korean resident and naturalised is unchanged.
In short
Okamoto Mitsunari, the new leader of Japan's Komeito, said he was born in Japan as a third-generation Korean resident and acquired Japanese nationality around the time he graduated from university. He told reporters at the Japanese parliament on 5 October that he decided to explain his background because of continuing online attacks over his nationality. The remarks followed his election as party leader at a convention on 3 October.
Read the full story 3 min read
Okamoto Mitsunari, the new leader of Japan's Komeito party, said he was born in Japan as a third-generation Korean resident and acquired Japanese nationality around the time he graduated from university, according to Kyodo News reports carried by Hankook Ilbo and Yonhap. Okamoto, 61, told reporters at the Japanese parliament on 5 October that he wanted to disclose as much as he could now that he holds the position of party leader. He was elected Komeito leader at a party convention on 3 October, Yonhap and Asia Economy reported. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Both outlets reported that he cited continuing online defamation and unfounded claims about his nationality as the reason he explained his background directly. Hankook Ilbo quoted him saying, “As I have taken on the post of party leader, I want to say as much as I can say at this point.” [ 1 , 2 ]
Two days earlier, on 3 October, Okamoto addressed the subject on his own YouTube channel after a host raised rumours about his nationality, saying, “I am a Japanese person with Japanese nationality.” According to the reports, he said his grandparents moved from Korea to Japan and that he was born in Saga Prefecture in 1965 and grew up there through high school. Hankook Ilbo and Asia Economy reported that neither his parents nor he speak Korean. Asia Economy added that he attended public elementary, middle and high schools in Saga Prefecture and moved to a university in Tokyo. He said he chose Japanese nationality because he loves Japan and intended to keep living there. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Hankook Ilbo reported that after Soka University he studied in the United States and worked at Citibank before moving to Goldman Sachs, where he was an executive. Asia Economy, citing Komeito's official profile, said he graduated from Soka University in 1989, joined Citibank the same year and received an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in 1998. He was first elected in the 2012 lower house election and is now in his sixth term, all three outlets reported. Hankook Ilbo added that he served as a vice minister-level official at the foreign ministry under the Abe Shinzo cabinet and as vice finance minister under the Kishida Fumio cabinet. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
His personal ties to Korea are limited, he said. According to Hankook Ilbo and Asia Economy, his first visit to Korea was in his late thirties on a business trip while working at Goldman Sachs; Asia Economy reported that he has since visited three to four times. [ 1 , 3 ]
Hankook Ilbo described Komeito as a centrist party backed by the religious group Soka Gakkai. It said the party had been part of the governing coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party since 1999, leaving the coalition last October in protest at the LDP's response to a political funding scandal. In January, its lower house members left and formed a new party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, with lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party, but the new party won only 49 seats in February's lower house election and a planned organisational merger failed, the outlet reported. Komeito-origin lower house members, including Okamoto, returned to the party on the 24th of last month, it said. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The disclosure puts a question about citizenship and unverified online claims at the centre of the leadership of a Japanese party that spent 26 years as part of the governing coalition before leaving it last year. It also draws attention to how rumours about a politician's origin circulate online in Japan. The documents give no polling or reaction data, so the political effect is not yet known.
Key facts
- Okamoto Mitsunari, 61, is the new leader of Japan's Komeito party. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said he was born in Saga Prefecture in 1965 as a third-generation Korean resident in Japan. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said he acquired Japanese nationality around the time he graduated from university. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said he explained his background because of continuing online defamation and unfounded claims about his nationality. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He made the remarks to reporters at the Japanese parliament on 5 October, according to Kyodo News reports. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Okamoto was elected Komeito leader at a party convention on 3 October. [ 2 , 3 ]
- He worked at Citibank and Goldman Sachs and was first elected to the lower house in 2012, now serving his sixth term. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said neither his parents nor he speak Korean, and that he first visited Korea in his late thirties on a business trip. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Okamoto Mitsunari is the new leader of Japan's Komeito and was elected at a party convention on 3 October. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Okamoto said he was born a third-generation Korean resident in Japan and acquired Japanese nationality around university graduation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said he cited continuing online defamation over his nationality as a reason for explaining his background directly. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- His grandparents moved from Korea to Japan and he was born in Saga Prefecture in 1965. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He worked at Citibank and later Goldman Sachs, and was first elected in the 2012 lower house election, now in his sixth term. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The content and origin of the online claims about his nationality All three documents say there were online attacks, defamation and rumours, but none describes the specific claims or who made them.
- The exact date his Japanese nationality was granted, and whether he holds or has held any other nationality The documents describe the timing only as around university graduation.
- Details of Komeito's coalition history, the breakaway Centrist Reform Alliance and the return of its lawmakers These details appear only in the Hankook Ilbo report and are not corroborated by a second outlet in the documents.
- How many times Okamoto has visited Korea Asia Economy reports three to four visits, while Hankook Ilbo says only that his first visit was in his late thirties on a business trip.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- 3 October: Okamoto is elected Komeito leader at the party convention. [ 2 , 3 ]
- 3 October: On his own YouTube channel, Okamoto says he is a Japanese national, that his grandparents moved from Korea to Japan and that he was born in Saga Prefecture. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- 5 October: At the Japanese parliament, Okamoto tells reporters he was born a third-generation Korean resident and obtained Japanese nationality around university graduation. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Hankook Ilbo publishes its report. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy publishes its report. [ 3 ]