Ken Saitō

Ken Saitō (齋藤 健) is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party who has been the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry since December 2023. Also serving in the Japanese House of Representatives, Saito served as the Minister of Justice from November 2022 to September 2023 and was the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from August 2017 to October 2018.

Career
Saito has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2009. Saito is a member of the Ishiba faction, led by Shigeru Ishiba, which was critical of the Abe administration. In his position as agriculture minister, he continued to keep a tariff hike on foreign beef. On 6 June 2023, the CDP submitted a censure motion against Saito, who was justice minister, in a bid to delay an immigration bill that sought to overhaul the asylum process.

As industry minister, Saito oversaw the expansion of Japan's semiconductor industry, through government subsidies to companies. On 10 April 2024, Saito was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.