Kōji Omi

Kōji Omi was born in Numata, Gunma Prefecture on 14 December 1932. He attended Hitotsubashi University, where he graduated with a degree in Commerce.^{[citation needed]}

He died on 14 April 2022, at the age of 89.^[1]

Omi started his career in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry where he later served as consul general of Japan in New York City and as the Director of the Small Business Administration. He was elected to the House of Representatives of the National Diet in 1983.

In 1997, Omi was appointed as the Director of the Economic Planning Agency. He briefly acted as a Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi between 2001 and 2002.^[2][1] He was on a diplomatic mission to the United States during the 11 September 2001 attacks.^{[citation needed]} Between 2006 and 2007, he served as the Minister of Finance under Shinzō Abe. 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.^[3]

He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service by the University of Cambodia in 2007^[4] and was awarded the first honorary doctorate by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in 2018.^[5]

• Founder and Chairman, Science and Technology in Society Forum, 2004.^[2][6]
• Board member, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 2014 to 2021.^[1]