Yasuhiro Nakasone

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1982 to 1987. He was a member of the House of Representatives for more than 50 years. His political term was best known for pushing through the privatization of state-owned companies and pursuing a hawkish and pro-U.S. foreign policy. Nakasone was born in Takasaki in Gunma, a prefecture northwest of Tokyo, on 27 May 1918. He was the second son of Nakasone Matsugoro II, a lumber dealer, and Nakamura Yuku. He had five siblings: an elder brother named Kichitaro, an elder sister named Shoko, a younger brother named Ryosuke and another younger brother and younger sister who both died in childhood. The Nakasone family had been of the samurai class during the Edo period, and claimed direct descent from the Minamoto clan. Nakasone graduated from Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo) in 1941 and served as a lieutenant in the imperial navy during World War II. At war’s end he was a distant witness of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In 1947 Nakasone was elected to the lower house of the Diet (parliament), becoming one of the youngest persons ever to hold a seat in that body. He retained his seat in subsequent elections and successively held several cabinet posts, including that of transport, defense, and international trade and industry. After Prime Minister Suzuki Zenko resigned in October 1982, Nakasone, an ally of the powerful Tanaka Kakuei, won a four-way contest to become the president of the LDP and thus, by reason of that party’s dominance, prime minister of Japan. He was formally elected prime minister by the Japanese Diet in November 1982. The political opposition was able to force early parliamentary elections in December 1983. The LDP lost its absolute majority, but Nakasone kept his office by forming a coalition cabinet. As prime minister, Nakasone sought to strengthen Japan’s ties with the United States by increasing Japan’s contribution to its own defense and by lowering Japanese trade barriers to American goods. His efforts to increase defense spending aroused considerable controversy in Japan. Outspokenly patriotic, Nakasone tried to enhance Japan’s reputation as one of the world’s leading economic powers by making frequent overseas trips to confer with Japan’s allies. On the domestic scene, he sponsored a program of government austerity measures in an effort to reduce Japan’s public debt. Nakasone was reaffirmed as president of the LDP in October 1984, thus gaining a second term as prime minister. He also became the first postwar prime minister to visit Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the war dead, including Japan’s convicted war criminals, in 1985. His visit fueled disputes with China and South Korea over World War II history that persist to this day. Nakasone also caused controversy by making remarks about the intelligence levels of different races and the role of women in society. Nakasone stepped down as prime minister in November 1987, after reaching the LDP's limit of two consecutive terms as president. He remained active in politics and advocated for the revision of Japan's pacifist constitution. He retired from the Diet in 2003, after serving for 56 years. He died on 29 November 2019, at the age of 101, in Tokyo. He was the oldest living former state leader at the time of his death.