Kōji Omi

Kōji Omi (尾身 幸次, Omi Kōji, 14 December 1932 – 14 April 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Finance in the first Cabinet of Shinzō Abe, from 2001 to 2007.

Koji Omi
Omi with Martín Varsavsky at STS in Kyoto
Minister of Finance
In office 26 September 2006 – 27 August 2007
Prime Minister	Shinzō Abe
Preceded by	Sadakazu Tanigaki
Succeeded by	Fukushiro Nukaga
Head of the Economic Planning Agency
In office 1997–1998
Prime Minister	Ryutaro Hashimoto
Preceded by	Taro Aso
Succeeded by	Taichi Sakaiya
Personal details
Born	(1932-12-14)14 December 1932 Numata, Gunma, Japan
Died	14 April 2022(2022-04-14) (aged 89)
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	Hitotsubashi University

Omi was born in Numata, Gunma Prefecture and graduated with a degree in Commerce from Hitotsubashi University. He joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and later served as consul general of Japan in New York City and as Director of the Small Business Administration. He resigned from the bureaucracy in 1982 to run for office, and was elected to the Diet of Japan in 1983.

Omi was appointed Director of the Economic Planning Agency in 1997 and briefly as a state minister under Junichiro Koizumi in 2001. He was on a mission to the United States during the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was Minister of Science and Technology 2001–2002, as well as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs.[1] He was appointed Minister of Finance on 26 September 2006.He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service by the University of Cambodia in 2007[2] and by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in 2018.[3]

Omi supported increases in the national consumption tax, although Abe distanced himself from this policy and sought to achieve much of his budget balancing through spending cuts.[4] Omi died on 14 April 2022, at the age of 89.[5]