Kiichi Miyazawa
Kiichi Miyazawa | |
|---|---|
宮澤 喜一 | |
 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 5 November 1991 – 9 August 1993 | |
| Monarch | Akihito |
| Preceded by | Toshiki Kaifu |
| Succeeded by | Morihiro Hosokawa |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 30 July 1998 – 26 April 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Keizo Obuchi Yoshiro Mori |
| Preceded by | Hikaru Matsunaga |
| Succeeded by | Masajuro Shiokawa |
| In office 22 July 1986 – 9 December 1988 | |
| Prime Minister | Yasuhiro Nakasone Noboru Takeshita |
| Preceded by | Noboru Takeshita |
| Succeeded by | Noboru Takeshita (Acting) |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | |
| In office 4 August 1993 – 9 August 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | |
| Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | |
| In office 20 July 1993 – 9 August 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Junichiro Koizumi |
| Succeeded by | Takenori Kanzaki |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 17 July 1980 – 27 November 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Zenko Suzuki |
| Preceded by | Masayoshi Ito |
| Succeeded by | Masaharu Gotōda |
| Director General of the Economic Planning Agency | |
| In office 27 November 1977 – 7 December 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Takeo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Tadashi Kuranari |
| Succeeded by | |
| In office 3 December 1966 – 30 November 1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Eisaku Sato |
| Preceded by | Eisaku Sato (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | |
| In office 18 July 1962 – 18 July 1964 | |
| Prime Minister | Hayato Ikeda |
| Preceded by | Hayato Ikeda (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 9 December 1974 – 15 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Takeo Miki |
| Preceded by | Toshio Kimura |
| Succeeded by | Zentaro Kosaka |
| Minister of International Trade and Industry | |
| In office 14 January 1970 – 5 July 1971 | |
| Prime Minister | Eisaku Sato |
| Preceded by | Masayoshi Ohira |
| Succeeded by | Kakuei Tanaka |
| Member of the National Diet of Japan House of Councillors (1953-1967) House of Representatives (1967-2003) | |
| In office 19 April 1953 – 9 November 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 October 1919 Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Died | 28 June 2007 (aged 87) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
| Signature |  |
Kiichi Miyazawa (宮澤 喜一, Miyazawa Kiichi, 8 October 1919 – 28 June 2007[1]) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years.
Early life and education[]
Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, on 8 October 1919. His father was a member of the Diet[2] and his grandfather a cabinet minister.[3] He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in law.[3]
Career[]
In 1942, Miyazawa joined the Ministry of Finance, avoiding military service during World War II.[3] While in the Ministry, he became a protégé of future prime minister Hayato Ikeda. He was a prefectural director of the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret military police, during the war.[4]
In 1953, at Ikeda's urging, Miyazawa ran for and won election to the Upper House of the National Diet, where he remained until moving to the Lower House in 1967.[3] As a leading figure in Ikeda's Kōchikai policy group, Miyazawa was considered a member of Ikeda's "brain trust."[5] In 1961, Miyazawa accompanied Ikeda to a summit meeting with U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and due to his excellent English, served as Ikeda's sole translator during the latters "yacht talks" with Kennedy on Kennedy's presidential yacht, the Honey Fitz.[6]
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.[7] Miyazawa gained brief fame in the United States when President George H. W. Bush vomited in his lap and fainted during a state dinner on 8 January 1992.
In 1992, he made a formal apology to South Korea for Japan's use of comfort women, making him the first Japanese leader to acknowledge that Japan coerced women into sexual slavery before and during the second world war.[3]
His government passed a law allowing Japan to send its forces overseas for peacekeeping missions as well as negotiating a trade agreement with the United States. It also introduced financial reforms to address the growing economic malaise in Japan in the 1990s. Miyazawa resigned in 1993 after losing a vote of no confidence marking an end to 38 years of Liberal Democratic Party government.[1] The reason for the vote was a scandal involving Fumio Abe, a member of Miyazawa's faction.[7] The Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in June 1994.
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 14 terms in both upper and lower houses before retiring from politics in 2003.[3][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][3] 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Martin, Douglas (29 June 2007). "Kiichi Miyazawa, Japan Premier in the 90s, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ Calder, Kent E. (January 1992). "Japan in 1991: Uncertain Quest for a Global Role". Asian Survey. 32 (1): 32–41. doi:10.1525/as.1992.32.1.00p0124h. JSTOR 2645196.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g McCurry, Justin (30 June 2007). "Obituary. Kiichi Miyazawa". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Schoenberger, Karl (14 May 1988). "Japan Aide Quits Over Remark on WWII". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0674984424.
- ^ Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0674984424.
- ^ Jump up to: 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.
- ^ Jump up to: 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.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/28/world/man-in-the-news-kiichi-miyazawa-self-assured-leader-of-japan.html
- ^ Miyazawa, Kiichi (2007). Secret Talks Between Tokyo and Washington. ISBN 9780739120149. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
External links[]
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- 1919 births
- 2007 deaths
- 20th-century prime ministers of Japan
- People from Fukuyama, Hiroshima
- University of Tokyo alumni
- Prime Ministers of Japan
- Deputy Prime Ministers of Japan
- Economic planning ministers of Japan
- Ministers of Finance of Japan
- Ministers of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
- Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
- Members of the House of Councillors (Japan)
- Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)
- Foreign ministers of Japan
- Miyazawa family
- Politicians from Hiroshima Prefecture