| Native name | 山田 太郎 |
|---|---|
| Office | Member of the House of Councillors |
| Term start | July 29, 2019 |
| Term start 1 | December 14, 2012 |
| Term end 1 | July 25, 2016 |
| Birth date | 12 May 1967 (age 59) |
| Birth place | Ōta, Tokyo, Japan |
| Party | Liberal Democratic |
| Alma mater | Keio University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Website | taroyamada.jp |
Taro Yamada (山田 太郎, Yamada Tarō, born May 12, 1967) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Councillors for the Liberal Democratic Party. He is known as a defender of freedom of expression in manga and anime, and has promoted policies to exempt sexual depictions of fictional characters from legal restrictions.[1]
Taro Yamada was born in Ōta, Tokyo, and began his career as a businessman. After becoming a politician as a member of the Diet for the Your Party in 2012, he lost an election. In 2019 he became a member of the House of Councillors for the Liberal Democratic Party. In the first and second Kishida Cabinets, he served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Affairs and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
During his tenure, he pushed for the inclusion of paragraph 3 in Article 14 of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime to decriminalize manga and anime, and visited Visa headquarters to end financial censorship.[2][3]
References
- ^ Morrissy, Kim (July 23, 2019). "'Otaku Interests' Politician Tarō Yamada Wins Seat in Japanese House of Councillors". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ^ Nair, Rohit (August 19, 2024). "UN’s Cybersecurity Draft Excludes Anime & Manga From Censorship Of Content Involving Children". Animehunch. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ^ "クレカ表現規制に対するVisaの見解、山田議員が日本法人に「価値判断しない」と再確認 社長の発言を受け" (in Japanese). ITmedia. December 3, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
External links
- Official website(in Japanese)