Keizō Obuchi
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Keizō Obuchi | |
---|---|
小渕 恵三 | |
Gunma 3rd District | |
In office 21 November 1963 – 14 May 2000 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Nakanojō, Gunma, Empire of Japan | 25 June 1937
Died | 14 May 2000 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 62)
Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
Spouse |
Chizuko Ono (m. 1967) |
Children | 3, including Yūko |
Alma mater | Waseda University (BA) |
Signature | |
Keizō Obuchi (小渕 恵三, Obuchi Keizō, 25 June 1937 – 14 May 2000) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1998 to 2000.
Obuchi was elected to the
Early life
Obuchi was born on 25 June 1937 in Nakanojō, Gunma Prefecture, the son of Mitsuhei Obuchi, one of four representatives in the National Diet for a district in Gunma.[1][2] At the age of 13, Obuchi transferred to a private middle school in Tokyo and lived in the city for the rest of his life. In 1958, Obuchi enrolled at Waseda University as an English literature major, in hopes of becoming a writer. When his father died that same year, Obuchi decided to follow in his footsteps as a politician, and continued as a graduate student in political science after graduating with his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1962.[3][4]
Between January and September 1963, Obuchi travelled to thirty-eight countries, completely circumnavigating the globe and taking odd jobs as he went, as he was short on money. These included being a dishwasher, an assistant
Political career
That November, inspired by his talk with Kennedy, Obuchi ran for the
In 1979, Obuchi became the director of the
In 1991, Obuchi became secretary general of the
Premiership
In 1998, Hashimoto resigned as LDP president when the party lost its majority in the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Diet, and Obuchi was named his successor. When the Diet designated a new prime minister, Obuchi became only the second LDP candidate not to win the support of the House of Councillors. However, the Constitution of Japan stipulates that if the two chambers cannot agree on a choice for prime minister, the choice of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet. With the LDP's large majority in the lower house, Obuchi was formally appointed Prime Minister on 30 July.
During his term as prime minister, Obuchi was focused on two major issues: signing a
Obuchi was known to have regularly enjoyed playing
Death
On 1 April 2000, Obuchi suffered a massive stroke and slipped into a coma at Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital while still in office. When it became apparent that he would never regain consciousness, he was replaced by Yoshirō Mori on 5 April. Obuchi died on 14 May at the age of 62; a state funeral was held in his honour at the Nippon Budokan on 8 June and was attended by foreign dignitaries from 156 countries and 22 organizations, including about 25 heads of state. Attendees at the funeral included UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, U.S. president Bill Clinton, and South Korean president Kim Dae-jung.
Personal life
Obuchi married environmental essayist Chizuko Ono in 1967. They were introduced by Tomisaburo Hashimoto, a Diet member and relative of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. They had one son and two daughters. Their younger daughter, Yūko Obuchi, ran for and was elected to the former prime minister's Diet seat in the 2000 election. Obuchi was a great fan of the works of the late historical novelist Ryōtarō Shiba, and a particular admirer of Sakamoto Ryōma, a key figure in the events leading to the Meiji Restoration.
Obuchi also had the unusual hobby of collecting figures of
Honours
- Medal of Honour with Yellow Ribbon for Best Father (1999)[7]
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (14 May 2000; posthumous)[7]
- Senior Second Rank (14 May 2000; posthumous)[7]
- Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan (1998)[8]
References
- ^ Sims, Calvin (May 15, 2000). "Keizo Obuchi, Premier Who Brought Stability as Japan's Economy Faltered, Dies at 62". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
- ^ "Keizo Obuchi". The Economist. May 18, 2000.
- Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archivedfrom the original on 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- ^ "Keizo Obuchi Chronology". Cabinet Secretariat (Japan). Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- ^ "Obuchi To Visit Ex-Kennedy Secretary". APNews.com. 1999-05-02. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17.
- ^ Ikegami, Akira (27 January 2014). "現代日本の足跡に学ぶ(14) 成長へ 好循環つかめるか". 日本経済新聞. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
小渕恵三首相は金融システムを安定させるため、金融機関の自己資本増強に取り組みました。景気対策となる公共事業拡大のため国債発行を増やしました。大きな借金を抱えるようになったのはこの頃からです。
- ^ a b c From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
- ^ 䝪䞊䜲䝇䜹䜴䝖日本連盟 きじ章受章者 [Recipient of the Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan] (PDF). Reinanzaka Scout Club (in Japanese). 2014-05-23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-11.
External links
- "Profile & Personality of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi." Japanese Prime Minister's Office site (Japanese version)
- Appearances on C-SPAN