Renho: Chinese-Japanese Cabinet Minister

On June 6, 2010, renho was appointed to a senior ministerial position by Naoto Kan, the present Prime Minister of Japan. Many Chinese sat up and took notice when learning about Renho’s latest appointment. Renho is special for several reasons. Renho is one of the youngest members of the Japanese new cabinet; Renho is a woman; born to a Taiwanese father and Japanese mother, Renho adopted Japanese citizenship in 1985; she usually goes by her first name Renho though her full name is Renho Murata; her birth name was 莲舫 (Lianfang in pinyin) and Renho was the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese words. Renho speaks Chinese fluently.

Naoto Kan at first wanted Renho, a mother of two children, to be a minister in charge of consumer affairs and declining birthrate, but changed his mind and appointed Renho to be a minister in charge of administrative reform. The new appointment means she is a very important member of the cabinet.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Renho is the oldest child. Her father is Xie Zhexin, a native of Beihe Town, Tainan County of the island province Taiwan, China and her Japanese mother, Keiko Saito, is a former Miss Shiseido.

Renho obtained Japanese nationality while at senior high school. She graduated from the Law Department of Aoyama Gakuin University in 1990 and later became an anchor person on Asahi TV. Renho quit this job in 1995 to study Chinese at Peking University. She said, “Anchors in Japan do their jobs in a way different from that of their American counterparts. They are not expected to edit what they read; and they are not supposed to go out and cover events on spot; they stay at studio and read what’s given them. A journalist can not do her job if she is not actively involved in covering news events.” She decided to quit and decided to find a job that would suit her better. Her home country China was obviously her first choice. So she applied for a course at the Chinese Language Center at Peking University.

Renho married her Japanese husband in 1993 and gave birth to boy and girl twins in 1997. Renho named her daughter Cui Lan and son Lin―names intended to remind them of their Chinese ancestry.

It was after having the twins that Renho became involved in education. She became aware of the gravity of the problems in education and realized that these problems could only be solved through politics. She wanted to be a politician so that she could take part in formulating policies and do something about education that ordinary people are not in a position to do. That’s how she was first drawn into the world of Japanese politics. With a recommendation, she joined the Democratic Party. In 2004, Renho was elected a Senator of the Japanese Cabinet. She was the only Japanese-Chinese member of the senate at that time.

After she became a politician, she made a reputation of putting sharp and direct questions to the leaders of the government.

Within the Democracy Party, Renho is admired by young members for her straightforward personality and her no-nonsense approach to various political issues as well as her amazing drinking capability.

She said in an interview in August, 2009 that Hatoyama administration would attach great importance to Japan-China relations and endeavor for better and closer exchanges between the two countries. As a Japanese Chinese she would do her best to promote friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Also in the interview she said she remembered the wonderful taste of Hami melon during her days in Peking University. She was deeply impressed by the assiduity of Chinese students.

With her experience as a television anchor, Renho frequently appears in television debates on the behalf of the Democratic Party.