Hideo Hiraoka

Hideo Hiraoka (平岡 秀夫, Hiraoka Hideo, born January 14, 1954) is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Hiraoka passed the bar exam and civil service exam prior to his graduation at the University of Tokyo.[1] In 1976 he entered the Ministry of Finance which he joined before resigning in 1998 after working in the National Tax Agency's corporate tax department.[1] In 2000, after leaving the ministry, he was elected to a seat of the House of Representatives for the first time; the district he represented, Yamaguchi Prefecture's No. 2 district, was previously a stronghold for the rival Liberal Democratic Party.[1] Following a large-scale upturn by the Liberal Democratic Party, Hiraoka lost his seat by 588 votes, remaining in the Lower House through a process known as proportional representation.[1] In 2008 he took back the Yamaguchi No. 2 seat, marking his fifth term as its representative for the Lower House.[1] Hiraoka was later appointed state secretary for internal affairs and communications in 2010.[1] In September 2011 he was appointed Minister of Justice in the cabinet of newly appointed prime minister Yoshihiko Noda.[1]

Hideo Hiraoka
平岡 秀夫
Minister of Justice
In office 2 September 2011 – 13 January 2012
Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Preceded by	Satsuki Eda
Succeeded by	Toshio Ogawa
Personal details
Born	(1954-01-14) 14 January 1954 Iwakuni, Japan
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Tokyo