Gen NAKATANI — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Minister of Defense (Japan) under Prime Ministers Junichiro Koizumi (2001-2002), Shinzo Abe (2014), and Shigeru Ishiba (2024).
Head of the Accounting and IR Unit at Sotetsu Holdings.
Served four years as a commissioned officer in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
First elected to the Japanese Parliament as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in 1990.
Supported a constitutional amendment recognizing same-sex marriage in December 2025.
Attended the National Defense Academy of Japan.

Biography

Gen Nakatani is a Japanese politician who has served multiple terms as the Minister of Defense. He was Director General of the Japan Defense Agency (now Japan Ministry of Defense) in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi from 2001 to 2002. He was later appointed Minister of Defense by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014 and again by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in 2024.