Early Life
Noda was born in Funabashi, Chiba on 20 May 1957, the son of a member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Unlike many prominent Japanese politicians, Noda has no family connections to NagatachÅ. His parents were too poor to pay for a wedding reception.
Noda graduated from Chiba Prefectural Funabashi Senior High School in 1975. Then, Noda enrolled in Waseda University School of Political Sciences and Economics in 1980 and was later accepted into the prestigious Matsushita Institute. This institution was founded by Konosuke Matsushita (the founder of Panasonic) to groom future civic leaders of Japan. While attending the Matsushita Institute, Noda read household gas meters as a part-time job in his native Chiba Prefecture, partially in order to get to know his future constituents better in preparation for a run for office. He was first elected to the assembly of Chiba Prefecture in 1987 at the age of 29.
Read more about this topic: Yoshihiko Noda
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