Renhō

Renhō
蓮舫
Renhō in 2024
President of the Democratic Party
In office
1 October 2016 – 27 July 2017
Preceded byKatsuya Okada
Succeeded bySeiji Maehara
Minister of State for Government Revitalization
In office
2 September 2011 – 13 January 2012
Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda
Preceded byYukio Edano
Succeeded byKatsuya Okada
In office
8 June 2010 – 27 June 2011
Prime MinisterNaoto Kan
Preceded byYukio Edano
Succeeded byYukio Edano
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
In office
14 January 2011 – 27 June 2011
Prime MinisterNaoto Kan
Preceded byTomiko Okazaki
Succeeded byGoshi Hosono
Member of the House of Councillors
Assumed office
28 July 2025
ConstituencyNational PR
In office
26 July 2004 – 20 June 2024
Preceded byMiyo Inoue
Succeeded byAyaka Shiomura
ConstituencyTokyo at-large
Personal details
BornHsieh Lien-fang (謝蓮舫)
(1967-11-28) 28 November 1967
Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
CitizenshipTaiwan (until 2016)
Japan (since 1985)
PartyCDP (2017–2024; 2025–present)
Other political
affiliations
DPJ (2004–2016)
DP (2016–2017)
Independent (2024–2025)
Spouse
Nobuyuki Murata
(m. 1993; div. 2020)
Children2
Alma materAoyama Gakuin University
Peking University
Websitewww.renho.jp
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Renhō
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese謝蓮舫
Simplified Chinese谢莲舫
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiè Liánfǎng
Bopomofoㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄧㄢˊ ㄈㄤˇ
Wade–GilesHsieh4 Lien2-fang3
IPA[ɕjê ljɛ̌n.fàŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationJeh Lìhnfóng
Jyutpingze6 lin4 fong2
IPA[tsɛ˨ lin˩.fɔŋ˧˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSiā Liân-hong
Japanese name
Hiraganaさいとう れんほう
Kyūjitai齊藤 蓮舫
Shinjitai斉藤 蓮舫
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnSaitō Renhō
Kunrei-shikiSaitô Renhô
Former Japanese name
Japanese name
Hiraganaむらた
Kyūjitai村田
Shinjitai村田
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnMurata
Kunrei-shikiMurata

Renhō Saitō (斉藤 蓮舫, Saitō Renhō; née Hsieh (謝), formerly Murata (村田); born 28 November 1967), known mononymously as Renhō, is a Japanese politician and former journalist who has served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2004 to 2024, and again since 2025. She was the leader of the now-defunct major opposition party, the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017. Renhō was a candidate for the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election with the support of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japanese Communist Party (JCP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but was defeated by incumbent Yuriko Koike, placing third behind Shinji Ishimaru.