Kaise Ikuo

Kaise Ikuo (貝瀬 郁夫, born 26 December 1961) is a Yamataian politician belonging to the Yamatai Restoration Party. He has been the Deputy Prime Minister since October 2014, and has served as Minister of Defence under Prime Minister Yamamoto Hanako since September 2018. He also previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2018.

Kaise has been a member of the Teikoku Gikai since 1996, and represents Musashi Province's 1st District.

Early life
Kaise Ikuo was born on 26 December 1961, in Musashi City, Musashi. He is the oldest of the three children of Kaise Yasuhiro, a former President of the Yamatai Restoration Party and Speaker of the Teikoku Gikai. Kaise's family is politically prominent; his father, grandfather, and great-uncle have all been active in national politics.

He attended Ebara Primary School, Adachi Institution, and then studied comparative politics at the National University of Yamatai in 1981. In 1983, Kaise worked for Shimamoto Hitoshi in his campaign for Prime Minister. He also worked for Okudera Yoshiaki for two years, during which he first met future Prime Minister Yamamoto Hanako, who was also an aspiring politician at the time.

Kaise graduated from the National University of Yamatai in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service. He joined Yamatai Aozora Airlines in 1987, and moved to the company's Dai Hoa branch in 1991. In 1993, Kaise joined Tamiya Electronics, a supplier of electronic components for Kanayachi, Kuroda, Matsushita, and other companies.

Political career
Kaise was first elected to the Teikoku Gikai as a Yamatai Restoration Party member in the July 1996 general election, at age 35. He won a closely contested election in Musashi's 1st District, which includes his hometown of Musashi City. He has since been re-elected seven times. In 2000, during his first term in the Gikai, Kaise approached Yamamoto Hanako, and offered to back her in a future YRP leadership run due to their shared views on expanding Yamatai's regional defence capabilities, which was at the time unpopular in the Gikai.

In the wake of the 2003 Mizuno Land Scandal and the resignation of the DPY government, under Prime Minister Morito Tatsuya Kaise was made the Gikai Secretary for Public Management, responsible for administrative reforms, local governments, and "e-government." From November 2003 to September 2007 he was Vice Minister of Justice in Morito's government.

In 2003, Kaise, then 43, was appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the Yamatai Restoration Party. He was also elected Provincial Chairman of Yamatai Restoration Party in Musashi Province. In 2007, he led the Party in Musashi to victory in the general election, which saw a general YRP victory.

During Ishihara Junichiro's Prime Ministership, Kaise was made the Vice Minister of Defence. He was one of the supporters of Yamataian involvement in the 2010 Masukan War and joined the Gikai coalition in support of the war led by Yamamoto Hanako, who was the Minister of Culture and Communications at the time. Kaise made several controversial statements regarding the Second Escar-Varunan War in a 2010 interview, which he later publicly apologised to Chisei for.

Yamamoto government
Kaise was one of Yamamoto's strongest supporters during her bid for leadership of the YRP in 2015. After Yamamoto Hanako became the President of the YRP and the Prime Minister of Yamatai in the 2015 general elections, Kaise was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was seen as a favourite for the next in line for Prime Ministership.

Following the cabinet reshuffle in 2019 following the general election, Kaise became the new Minister of Defence. Under his stewardship, the Ministry of Defence budget has increased by almost 30%, and several new military projects have been unveiled. Closer ties between the Yamataian military and the allied military forces of HECO have been formed through various bilateral exercises and exchanges.

Personal life
Kaise is married to Momoko, a former air stewardess for Yamatai Aozora Airlines, whom he met while he was working in the company. The couple have three children, Tomoko, Gunpei, and Karin. They enjoy scuba diving, watching movies, and hiking.