Date of birth: July 29, 1967

Party: DPJ

Electoral district: Upper House; Nagano (third term)

Hata began his political career in 1997 as a secretary to his father, ex-Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata.

Hata's predecessor, Takeshi Maeda, aggressively restarted a number of public works projects long frozen under an austerity policy. Hata's stance on public projects, such as the controversial construction of expressways, will be a focus of public attention.

Hata has served as the DPJ's Upper House Diet affairs chief and the executive board member of the investigative committee on the low birthrate and aging population.

In 1999, he won a seat in the Upper House on the DPJ ticket. He is currently serving his third term.

Hata majored in child studies at Tamagawa University in Tokyo and is a certified children's nurse.