Reiwa Shinsengumi Chief Yamamoto Resigns from Upper House Due to Health Problems

From Jiji

January 21 2026

TOKYO – Taro Yamamoto, leader of Japanese opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, on Wednesday resigned from the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, due to health problems.
   “I’m one step away from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. If I don’t live by the main theme of not letting it progress, I could lose my life,” Yamamoto said in a video posted on the party’s official YouTube channel.
   He said he will enter “an indefinite period of inactivity,” adding that he will continue to serve as party leader by significantly reducing his workload.
   Reflecting on his time in office, Yamamoto said, “Parliamentary activities involved a series of tasks that required considerable physical and mental pressure.”
   “I feel that excessive stress is the biggest cause,” he said of his health problems.