Tarō Asō

Deputy Prime Minister of Japan

麻生太郎 20 September 1940 Iizuka, Fukuoka, Empire of Japan

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Incumbent

Japanese politician In this Japanese name, the surname is Asō. The baptismal name is Francisco. Play media (video) Deputy Prime Minister Asō in front of the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara introducing prime minister Shinzo Abe (middle) with a speech, 2014. Tarō Asō (麻生 太郎 , Asō Tarō, born 20 September 1940) is a Japanese politician who has been Deputy Prime Minister of Japan and Minister of Finance since 2012. He is the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in Japanese history. Asō previously served one year as Prime Minister of Japan from September 2008 to September 2009 and was also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications. Asō was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1979. He served in numerous ministerial roles before becoming Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 2008, having also held that role temporarily in 2007. He was later elected LDP President in September 2008, becoming Prime Minister the same month. He led the LDP to the worst election result in its history a year later, marking only the second time in post-war Japan that a governing party had lost re-election, and resigned as LDP President immediately afterwards. After the LDP returned to government following the 2012 election under Shinzo Abe, Asō was appointed to the Cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, retaining those roles when Yoshihide Suga replaced Abe in 2020.