Kiichi Miyazawa
Kiichi Miyazawa | |
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宮澤 喜一 | |
National Diet of Japan
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In office 19 April 1953 – 9 November 2003 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Empire of Japan | 8 October 1919
Died | 28 June 2007 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 87)
Political party | Liberal Democratic |
Spouse | Yoko Miyazawa |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
Signature | |
Kiichi Miyazawa (宮澤 喜一, Miyazawa Kiichi, 8 October 1919 – 28 June 2007
Early life and education
Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in
Career
In 1942, Miyazawa joined the Ministry of Finance, avoiding military service during World War II.[2] While in the Ministry, he became a protégé of future prime minister Hayato Ikeda.
In 1953, at Ikeda's urging, Miyazawa ran for and won election to the Upper House of the
Beginning with the Ikeda cabinet, Miyazawa held a number of important government posts, including Director of the Economic Planning Agency (1962-1964), Director of the Economic Planning Agency (1966-1968), Minister of International Trade and Industry (1970–1971), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1974–1976), Director of the Economic Planning Agency (1977–1978), and Chief Cabinet Secretary (1984–1986). He became Minister of Finance under the government of Noboru Takeshita in July 1986. However, Miyazawa had to resign from this post amid the Recruit scandal in 1988.[1]
Prime minister
Miyazawa became Prime Minister on 5 November 1991 backed by his faction.
In 1992, while he was in South Korea, he formally apologized for Japan's use of comfort women, making him the first Japanese leader to acknowledge that Japan's military coerced women into sexual slavery before and during the second world war.[2]
His government passed a law allowing Japan to send its forces overseas for
Subsequent career
Miyazawa later returned to frontbench politics when he was once again appointed finance minister from 1998 to 2001 in the governments of Keizō Obuchi and Yoshirō Mori. In 1998, Miyazawa replaced Hikaru Matsunaga as finance minister.[8][9] He served a total of 14 terms in both upper and lower houses before retiring from politics in 2003.[2][10] The reason for his retirement was that then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi set an age limit of 73 for LDP political candidates.[11]
Personal life
Miyazawa married while studying in the United States. He and his wife, Yoko, had two children: Hiro, an architect, and Keiko, who became wife of diplomat Christopher J. LaFleur .[12][2] He published a book, entitled Secret Talks Between Tokyo and Washington, which was translated into English by Robert D. Eldridge in 2007. The book is about Miyazawa's views concerning the relationships between the US and Japan in terms of the political, economic, and security-related negotiations during the period of 1949 and 1954.[13]
Death
Miyazawa died in Tokyo at the age of 87 on 28 June 2007.[1][10]
References
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McCurry, Justin (30 June 2007). "Obituary. Kiichi Miyazawa". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- JSTOR 2645196.
- OCLC 675708973.
- ISBN 978-0674984424.
- ISBN 978-0674984424.
- ^ a b Jameson, Sam (2 February 1992). "Miyazawa's Party Faction Chief Indicted". Los Angeles Times. Tokyo. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ "Matsunaga expects economy to recover under Miyazawa". Kyodo News. Tokyo. 30 July 1998. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ "Kiichi Miyazawa: plagued by bribery". BBC. 29 July 1998. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Former Japan PM Kiichi Miyazawa dead". UPI. Tokyo. 28 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ Nakamoto, Michiyo (28 June 2007). "Former Japanese PM Miyazawa dies". Financial Times. Tokyo. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Weisman, Steven R. (28 October 1991). "Man in the News: Kiichi Miyazawa; Self-Assured Leader of Japan". The New York Times.
- ISBN 9780739120149. Retrieved 5 January 2013.