| Ichirō Komatsu | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Office: | Director General of Cabinet Legislation Bureau |
| Term Start: | 8 August 2013 |
| Term End: | 16 May 2014 |
| Predecessor: | Tsuneyuki Yamamoto |
| Successor: | Yusuke Yokobatake |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Kobe, Japan |
| Death Place: | Suginami, Tokyo, Japan |
was a Japanese diplomat, civil servant and politician.
Entered Seiko Gakuin Junior and Senior High School. After passing the foreign affairs public service class I examination (=diplomat recruitment examination), he dropped out of Hitotsubashi University's Faculty of Law after three years and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972.He was appointed the Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, a highly influential post, by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in August 2013.[1] The Cabinet Legislation Bureau advises Cabinet members on laws and legal matters, studies legislation, and determines how the government should interpret the Constitution of Japan.[1] He stepped down from the position in May 2014 due to declining health from cancer.[1] Komatsu had previously served as Japan's ambassador to France, Switzerland and Liechtenstein earlier in his career.[1] [2]
Born in 1951, Komatsu graduated from Hitotsubashi University.[1] He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as the ministry's director-general for international legal affairs.[1]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unilaterally appointed Komatsu as Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau in August 2013. Komatsu was the first Foreign Ministry official to be appointed to the post.[1] Abe and Komatsu shared similar beliefs that Japan's pacifist Constitution should be revised to allow for more military involvement overseas.[1] Komatsu supported Abe's efforts to skirt Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution to increase Japan's security role on the international stage.[1]
Ichiro Komatsu died from cancer on 23 June 2014, at the age of 63.[1]