Photo: 文部科学省 / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
I love how Kihei Maekawa flips the script on what an elite bureaucrat is supposed to be. Here's a guy who ran the textbook course, Azabu, the University of Tokyo, all the way to the top of the Ministry of Education, and somehow he gets famous after he retires, when most people in that chair would zip their lips and fade quietly into a pension. Instead he keeps showing up, talking, saying the uncomfortable thing in his own words. That stubborn streak, the refusal to hide in the safe zone, is what makes him interesting to me whether you agree with him or not. And the Brahms obsession? It cracks the stiff-civil-servant image just enough to feel human. I'm not mad at it at all.
Overview
Kihei Maekawa was born on January 13, 1955, in Gose, Nara Prefecture, Japan. He attended Azabu High School and then entered the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law (Liberal Arts I), following a quintessential elite academic track. He rose through the ranks of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, eventually serving as Administrative Vice-Minister. After leaving office, he became publicly outspoken on education and social issues, maintaining an active presence on social media under his own name.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kihei Maekawa
- Name (Japanese)
- 前川喜平
- Reading
- まえかわ きへい
- Born
- January 13, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Sheep (未)
- Origin
- Gose, Nara Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- Bureaucrat / Former Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
2. Background
- High school
- Azabu High School
- University
- University of Tokyo, Faculty of Liberal Arts I (Law)
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Kihei Maekawa born?
Born January 13, 1955 (age 71).
Where is Kihei Maekawa from?
Kihei Maekawa is from Gose, Nara Prefecture, Japan.
What does Kihei Maekawa do?
Kihei Maekawa works as Bureaucrat, Former Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Bureaucrat — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.