Marutei Tsurunen

Marutei Tsurunen (ツルネン・マルテイ or 弦念 丸呈, Tsurunen Marutei, born 30 April 1940) is the first foreign-born Japanese of European origin serving as a member of the Diet of Japan. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, where he serves as Director General of the International Department. He served in the House of Councillors from 2001 to 2013.

Biography

Tsurunen was born Martti Turunen in the village of Jaakonvaara in Lieksa, Finland. Near the end of Continuation War, Tsurunen (then four years old) and his family were among the few survivors of a Soviet partisan attack on the village.

In 1967, at the age of 27, Tsurunen traveled to Japan as a lay missionary of the Lutheran Church, accompanied by his first wife, who was also a Finn (they later divorced). Having decided to become Japanese, he gained his Japanese citizenship in 1979. He moved to Yugawaramachi in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1981.

Political career

He first ran for city council in 1992 in Yugawaramachi and won a seat, coming in fourth place with 1,051 votes.