Yasuhiro Sonoda

Yasuhiro Sonoda is one of those politicians you'd almost forget about — three terms representing Gifu's 3rd district, a Nihon University grad, a Democratic Party of Japan loyalist who ground through two failed runs before finally winning in 2003 — and then he went and did the most memorable thing any politician did all decade: drank a glass of decontaminated water scooped from puddles under the Fukushima Daiichi reactor buildings, live at a press conference, because a reporter basically dared him to. Brave stunt or savvy political theater, I honestly can't decide, but it burned his face into international memory in a way ten years of committee work never would. He left politics for good after losing in 2014, and that feels weirdly right — some people are built for one defining moment, not a long career arc.

Yasuhiro Sonoda is a Japanese politician born on June 9, 1967, in Gifu Prefecture. He graduated from Nihon University. He is known in the field of politics, representing Gifu Prefecture on the national stage.

Name (English)

Yasuhiro Sonoda

Name (Japanese)

園田康博

Reading

そのだ やすひろ

Born

June 9, 1967 (age 59)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Gemini / 未 (Goat)

Origin

Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

Politician

University

Nihon University

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%92%E7%94%B0%E5%BA%B7%E5%8D%9A

Tags

• From Gifu Prefecture
• Politician

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.