Taro Kono

Taro Kono
河野 太郎
Official portrait, 2010
Minister for Digital Transformation
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 August 2022
Prime Minister	Fumio Kishida
Preceded by	Karen Makishima
Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform
In office 16 September 2020 – 4 October 2021
Prime Minister	Yoshihide Suga
Preceded by	Ryota Takeda
Succeeded by	Karen Makishima
In office 7 October 2015 – 3 August 2016
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Haruko Arimura
Succeeded by	Kozo Yamamoto
Minister of Defense
In office 11 September 2019 – 16 September 2020
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Takeshi Iwaya
Succeeded by	Nobuo Kishi
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 3 August 2017 – 11 September 2019
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Fumio Kishida
Succeeded by	Toshimitsu Motegi
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission
In office 7 October 2015 – 3 August 2016
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Eriko Yamatani
Succeeded by	Jun Matsumoto
Member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa's 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 October 1996
Preceded by	Constituency established
Personal details
Born	(1963-01-10) 10 January 1963 (age 61) Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Spouse	Kaori Kono
Children	1
Parent	Yōhei Kōno (father)
Alma mater	Georgetown University (BS)
Website	Official website

Taro Kono (河野 太郎, Kōno Tarō, born 10 January 1963) is a Japanese politician serving as the Minister for Digital Transformation since August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he previously served as Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform from 2015 to 2016 and from 2020 to 2021, and was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He is also a member of the House of Representatives representing Kanagawa's 15th district since 1996.

Kono has developed a reputation as a political maverick, with a tendency to hold positions on issues contrary to his party. He is also known for his large following on social media and his fluency in English, having attended college in the United States.^[1][2] He also has been speculated as a potential future Prime Minister, running in the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, but losing to Fumio Kishida in a second round run-off.