(born August 20, 1951) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. He was the first Japanese Canadian elected to a provincial legislature. Background Tsubouchi was born in Toronto, and grew up in Scarborough in the Agincourt area. His parents were Japanese Canadians, originally from British Columbia, who were interned during World War II. After their release they moved to Toronto. He graduated from Agincourt Collegiate Institute in 1968 and attended York University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, and a law degree from Osgoode Hall in 1975. He was the senior partner in the firm of Tsubouchi & Nichols (formerly Tsubouchi & Parker) following his graduation. Tsubouchi was also an Associate Director of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, and was a frequent contributor to the Law Gazette. He received an Air Canada Heart of Gold award in 1988, and was granted a coat-of-arms from the Canadian Governor-General's office in 1993. Tsubouchi has a younger brother and sister. His father was killed in a hit and run accident in 2005. Tsubouchi worked briefly as an actor. He had a minor role as a Japanese salesman in David Cronenberg's Videodrome in 1983, and episodes of John Byner's Bizarre and SCTV. Politics Municipal councillor Tsubouchi was elected as a city councillor in ward 5 in Markham and served from 1988 to 1994. Provincial politics In the provincial election of 1995, he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the provincial riding of Markham, defeating his nearest opponent by 26,544 votes. The Tories won a majority government in the election and Tsubouchi was appointed as Minister of Community and Social Services in the government of Mike Harris on June 26, 1995. In this portfolio, Tsubouchi was responsible for presiding over drastic cuts in the province's welfare system. He also made a number of controversial actions early in his ministry, including suggesting that welfare recipients who had their funding reduced should consider haggling down the price of dented cans of tuna to 69 cents each. He also claimed that single mothers on welfare had ample time to find jobs, after having given a three-month warning for a 22% cut in benefits. Later, he prepared a sample menu which listed affordable food