Yasuhiro Hanashi

Yasuhiro Hanashi (葉梨 康弘, Hanashi Yasuhiro, born 1959), a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Justice of Japan from August 2022 to November 2022. He has served in the House of Representatives since 2003. A native of Ibaraki Prefecture and graduate of the University of Tokyo he joined the National Police Agency in 1982 becoming the director in the Juvenile Community Safety division. Leaving the agency in 1999, he was elected to public office for the first time in 2003, representing the 3rd District of Ibaraki prefecture, which includes the cities of Ryugasaki and Ushiku, among others. He also served as vice minister of justice in 2017, and vice minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in 2020

Hanashi resigned as Justice Minister on 11 November 2022 following comments he made to a political gathering earlier in the week suggesting that the Justice Minister was a “unspectacular position” that became "a top story in daytime news programs only when stamping a seal on documents of execution." and “Serving as justice minister won't help raise much money or secure many votes”. Opposition leaders like Akira Koike of the Communist Party said that Hanashi was disrespecting the post and its responsibilities, as well as making light of the death penalty. Hasashi’ comments follow a string of highly publicized LDP scandals like the Unification Church Scandal, that deeply harmed the party’s reputation, and led Prime Minister Kishida to take a firm stance against scandal in the Party. He dismissed 4 ministers in a cabinet reshuffle to solidify this stance.