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Minor opposition Reiwa party head to retire from politics

Taro Yamamoto, head of minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 9, 2026, to announce he will retire from politics as well as step down as leader. The party said earlier he was fined and his driving license was suspended for 90 days for driving a rental car at about 150 kilometers per hour on an expressway with an 80-kph speed limit in October 2025.

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Minor opposition Reiwa party head to retire from politics

Taro Yamamoto, head of minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 9, 2026, to announce he will retire from politics as well as step down as leader. The party said earlier he was fined and his driving license was suspended for 90 days for driving a rental car at about 150 kilometers per hour on an expressway with an 80-kph speed limit in October 2025.

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Minor opposition Reiwa party head to retire from politics

Taro Yamamoto, head of minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 9, 2026, to announce he will retire from politics as well as step down as leader. The party said earlier he was fined and his driving license was suspended for 90 days for driving a rental car at about 150 kilometers per hour on an expressway with an 80-kph speed limit in October 2025.

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Minor opposition Reiwa party head to retire from politics

Taro Yamamoto, head of minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 9, 2026, to announce he will retire from politics as well as step down as leader. The party said earlier he was fined and his driving license was suspended for 90 days for driving a rental car at about 150 kilometers per hour on an expressway with an 80-kph speed limit in October 2025.

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Minor opposition Reiwa party head to retire from politics

Taro Yamamoto, head of minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 9, 2026, to announce he will retire from politics as well as step down as leader. The party said earlier he was fined and his driving license was suspended for 90 days for driving a rental car at about 150 kilometers per hour on an expressway with an 80-kph speed limit in October 2025.

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Minor opposition party head Yamamoto to step down as lawmaker

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 21, 2026, announcing his decision to step down as a House of Councillors lawmaker due to ill health.

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Minor opposition party head Yamamoto to step down as lawmaker

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 21, 2026, announcing his decision to step down as a House of Councillors lawmaker due to ill health.

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Minor opposition party head Yamamoto to step down as lawmaker

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the minor opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 21, 2026, announcing his decision to step down as a House of Councillors lawmaker due to ill health.

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Japan upper house election debate

Leaders of eight Japanese political parties -- (from L) Sohei Kamiya of the Sanseito party, Tomoko Tamura of the Japanese Communist Party, Tetsuo Saito of the Komeito party, Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Hirofumi Yoshimura of the Japan Innovation Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People and Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsengumi party -- pose for a photo at a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2, 2025, a day before official campaigning begins for the July 20 House of Councillors election.

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Japan upper house election campaign

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, makes a stump speech in Tokyo on July 3, 2025, as official campaigning begins for the July 20 House of Councillors election.

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Japan upper house election debate

Combined photo shows leaders of eight Japanese political parties -- (from L) Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Tetsuo Saito of the Komeito party, Hirofumi Yoshimura of the Japan Innovation Party, Tomoko Tamura of the Japanese Communist Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsengumi party and Sohei Kamiya of the Sanseito party -- speaking during a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2, 2025, a day before official campaigning begins for the July 20 House of Councillors election.

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Japan upper house election debate

Leaders of eight Japanese political parties -- (from L) Sohei Kamiya of the Sanseito party, Tomoko Tamura of the Japanese Communist Party, Tetsuo Saito of the Komeito party, Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Hirofumi Yoshimura of the Japan Innovation Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People and Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsengumi party -- pose for a photo at a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2, 2025, a day before official campaigning begins for the July 20 House of Councillors election.

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Japan party leaders on tariff negotiations

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2nd from R), head of the Liberal Democratic Party, holds talks on tariff negotiations with the United States at the parliament in Tokyo on June 12, 2025, with Tetsuo Saito (far R), leader of the ruling coalition partner Komeito, and opposition leaders -- (from 3rd from R) Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Seiji Maehara of the Japan Innovation Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, Tomoko Tamura of the Japanese Communist Party and Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsengumi party.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2024, after polls for a general election closed.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2024, after polls for a general election closed.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2024, after polls for a general election closed.

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Campaigning for Japan general election

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, makes a stump speech in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 21, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

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People's Life Party joined by independent

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 26, 2014, at the House of Councillors chamber shows Taro Yamamoto, who joined as the fifth member of the People's Life Party. By his joining, the party has regained a political party status, becoming eligible for next year's state subsidies just ahead of the year-end deadline.

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Upper house bars Yamamoto from imperial events

TOKYO, Japan - Taro Yamamoto (C), an independent upper house member, is surrounded by reporters at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 8, 2013. Yamamoto, an antinuclear activist at the center of a controversy for handing a letter to Emperor Akihito the previous week, was banned by the chamber the same day from attending ceremonies and other events related to the imperial family.

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Upper house bars Yamamoto from imperial events

TOKYO, Japan - Taro Yamamoto (C), an independent upper house member, heads for a meeting with upper house President Masaaki Yamazaki at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 8, 2013. Yamamoto, an antinuclear activist at the center of a controversy for handing a letter to Emperor Akihito the previous week, was banned by the chamber the same day from attending ceremonies and other events related to the imperial family.

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Upper house bars Yamamoto from imperial events

TOKYO, Japan - Taro Yamamoto, an independent upper house member, attends a plenary session of the House of Councillors at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 8, 2013. Yamamoto, an antinuclear activist at the center of a controversy for handing a letter to Emperor Akihito the previous week, was banned by the chamber the same day from attending ceremonies and other events related to the imperial family.

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Diet member who handed letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Taro Yamamoto, an independent House of Councillors member, holds a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2013.

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Diet member who handed letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Taro Yamamoto, an independent House of Councillors member, is seen after holding talks with the chairman of the upper house steering committee at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2013. Yamamoto, who handed a letter to Emperor Akihito at a garden party in the previous week, told the chairman he will not step down despite harsh criticism that his act was a grievous breach of protocol.

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Lawmaker who handed letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Independent lawmaker and antinuclear activist Taro Yamamoto speaks with reporters after being interviewed by members of the House of Councillors steering committee at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 1, 2013. Yamamoto, who in a rare breach of protocol handed a letter directly to Emperor Akihito the previous day, told reporters he was not aware that his action had violated any rules.

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Lawmaker who handed letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Independent lawmaker and antinuclear activist Taro Yamamoto heads for an interview with members of the House of Councillors steering committee at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 1, 2013. Yamamoto, who in a rare breach of protocol handed a letter directly to Emperor Akihito the previous day, told reporters afterward he was not aware that his action had violated any rules.

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Lawmaker who handed letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Members of the House of Councillors steering committee hold a meeting at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 1, 2013. The committee decided to interview independent lawmaker and antinuclear activist Taro Yamamoto, who in a rare breach of protocol handed a letter directly to Emperor Akihito the previous day. After a meeting with committee members later that day, Yamamoto told reporters he was not aware that his action had violated any rules.

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Antinuclear Japanese lawmaker hands letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors lawmaker Taro Yamamoto speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2013, after handing a letter to Emperor Akihito during an autumn garden party. The handing of the letter directly to the emperor broke protocol. Yamamoto told reporters he simply wanted the emperor to know about the current health effects of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power complex.

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Antinuclear Japanese lawmaker hands letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - Emperor Akihito (C) receives a letter from House of Councillors lawmaker Taro Yamamoto (facing emperor) during an autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2013. The handing of the letter directly to the emperor broke protocol. Yamamoto told reporters afterward he simply wanted the emperor to know about the current health effects of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power complex.

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Antinuclear Japanese lawmaker hands letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors lawmaker Taro Yamamoto speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2013, after handing a letter to Emperor Akihito during an autumn garden party. The handing of the letter directly to the emperor broke protocol. Yamamoto told reporters he simply wanted the emperor to know about the current health effects of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power complex.

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Antinuclear Japanese lawmaker hands letter to emperor

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors lawmaker Taro Yamamoto hands a letter to Emperor Akihito during an autumn garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2013. The handing of the letter directly to the emperor broke protocol. Yamamoto told reporters afterward he simply wanted the emperor to know about the current health effects of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power complex.

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Japan upper house election

TOKYO, Japan - Actor and antinuclear activist Taro Yamamoto celebrates his projected win in the House of Councillors election in Tokyo on July 21, 2013. He ran in the Tokyo constituency as an independent.

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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese actor and antinuclear activist Taro Yamamoto speaks to a reporter in Tokyo's Suginami Ward at 0:37 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2012, after losing in a general election the previous day.

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Actor Yamamoto to enter company

TOKYO, Japan - Undated file photo shows Japanese actor Taro Yamamoto. Yamamoto, who has been campaigning for denuclearization since the eruption of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, will enter a company selling solar power generation equipment, sources close to the 37-year-old actor said April 17, 2012. Yamamoto said in January his income ''has dropped to less than a tenth because I've been getting no job offers'' since becoming actively involved with the cause.

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Japanese actor Taro Yamamoto

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese actor Taro Yamamoto holds a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2011. The 37-year-old actor, who has been calling for the elimination of nuclear power generation in Japan, lamented that the movement against nuclear power in the country, while showing some momentum in the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, is not on a par with similar movements in other countries.

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Antinuclear actor Yamamoto

SAGA, Japan - File photo shows actor Taro Yamamoto. Prosecutors said on Sept. 21, 2011, they have accepted a criminal complaint against Yamamoto on suspicion of trespassing at a local government building in Saga, southwestern Japan, when he entered the facility in July to file an antinuclear power protest with some other 150 people.

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Actor Taro Yamamoto

TOKYO, Japan - Undated file photo shows Japanese actor Taro Yamamoto. His management agency posted a message on its homepage on May 27, 2011, saying it has decided to accept Yamamoto's wish to withdraw from the agency so as not to cause trouble because of his personal activities. Yamamoto has been involved in anti-nuclear activities in the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant following the March 11 killer quake and tsunami.

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Japan upper house election

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi, is interviewed by a TV reporter in Tokyo on July 10, 2022, the day of the House of Councillors election.

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Japan upper house election

Taro Yamamoto, head of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi, is interviewed by a TV reporter in Tokyo on July 10, 2022, the day of the House of Councillors election.

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Japanese party leaders' debate for upper house election

Nine leaders of Japan's ruling and opposition parties take part in a debate hosted by the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on June 21, 2022, for the July 10 House of Councillors election -- (from L) Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, Ichiro Matsui of the Japan Innovation Party, Kenta Izumi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of the Liberal Democratic Party, Natsuo Yamaguchi of Komeito, Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party, Taro Yamamoto of Reiwa Shinsengumi and Takashi Tachibana of NHK Party.

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Parliament approves lower house lawmaker Yamamoto's resignation

House of Representatives lawmaker Taro Yamamoto (C), who heads the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, bows after his resignation as a member of the lower house was approved at its plenary session in Tokyo on April 19, 2022. Yamamoto plans to run for the House of Councillors election in the summer.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, smiles after giving a TV interview at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 31, 2021, following the day's House of Representatives election.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, gives a TV interview at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 31, 2021, following the day's House of Representatives election.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, gives a TV interview at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 31, 2021, following the day's House of Representatives election.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, meets the press at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 31, 2021, after the results of the day's House of Representatives election start to come in.

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General election in Japan

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, gives a TV interview at a Tokyo hotel on Oct. 31, 2021, after the results of the day's House of Representatives election start to come in.

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Campaigning for Japanese general election

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the anti-establishment party Reiwa Shinsengumi, makes a stump speech in Tokyo on Oct. 30, 2021, a day before a general election.

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Co-leaders of People's Life Party at press conference

Co-leaders of People's Life Party -- Ichiro Ozawa (L) and Taro Yamamoto -- attend a press conference in Tokyo on July 11, 2016, following voting in the upper house election the previous day. The party won one seat in the election. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Campaigning kicks off for upper house election

Taro Yamamoto, joint chief of the small opposition People's Life Party & Taro Yamamoto and Friends, gives his first stump speech in official campaigning for the House of Councillors election, which started on June 22, 2016, in Tokyo's busy Shinjuku district. Yamamoto said it is necessary to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots in society. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Campaigning kicks off for upper house election

Taro Yamamoto, joint chief of the small opposition People's Life Party & Taro Yamamoto and Friends, gives his first stump speech in official campaigning for the House of Councillors election, which started on June 22, 2016, in Tokyo's busy Shinjuku district. Yamamoto said it is necessary to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots in society. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Star Wars-themed traditional Japanese screens

Screens drawn by artist Taro Yamamoto are shown to the press at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto on Nov. 30, 2015, to celebrate the Dec. 18 release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rimpa school of Japanese painting. The Star Wars version of the famous "Fujin Raijin-zu byobu" (Wind God and Thunder God Screens) by the 17th-century artist Tawaraya Sotatsu will be exhibited at the temple from Dec. 8-15. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo