Yasuo Ichikawa (一川 保夫, Ichikawa Yasuo, born February 6, 1942) is a former Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan who served as the Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2012.

He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party by proportional representation – he failed to win the Ishikawa 2nd district from Liberal Democrat Yoshirō Mori four times in a row.

After losing also his proportional seat in 2005, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007.

[1] In December 2011 he was the subject of a censure motion from the opposition LDP for failing to know the details of the 1995 rape where three US servicemen kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl.

This followed his subordinate Satoshi Tanaka speaking with reporters in a bar and using euphemisms for sexual assault to discuss moving the US Futenma airbase.