Yukio Edano

Yukio Edano (枝野 幸男, Edano Yukio, born 31 May 1964) is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from its formation in 2017 until 2021.

He was elected to parliament in the 1993 Japanese general election under the Japan New Party, and served briefly in the governments of Morihiro Hosokawa, Tsutomu Hata, Tomiichi Murayama, and the first Ryutaro Hashimoto cabinet before leaving the New Party Sakigake to join the Democratic Party in 1998. He then held various roles inside the party, and upon the group's landslide victory in the 2009 election, served roles in all three opposition cabinets. He was a major part of the response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Following the defeat of the Democratic Party in 2012, he held his seat in parliament, and joined the various opposition groups that formed around the time, including the 2016 form of the Democratic Party. With his attempt to join Kibō no Tō being blocked by Yuriko Koike's refusal to let liberal members of the former Democratic Party inside the group, he left to form the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan for liberal factions of the former party, which he led to a surprising second place finish in the 2017 Japanese general election.

Following the CDP's poor performance in the 2021 general election, Edano announced on 2 November his intention to resign as leader of the party, triggering a leadership election.