Kaieda was born and grew up in Suginami, Tokyo. He is named after the as his father was a newspaper correspondent who covered China and Taiwan. He graduated from Keio University where he studied political science, English, German and Chinese. He became known as a television personality in the late 1980s and early 1990s, both in comical roles and as a serious newscaster (hosting the Saturday evening news program on TV Tokyo from 1989 to 1991).
