Noboru Takeshita

Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989 during the bubble economy. He led the largest faction at the time in the Liberal Democratic Party, which he inherited from Kakuei Tanaka, from the 1980s until his death in 2000. He was dubbed the "last shadow shogun" for his behind-the-scenes influence in Japanese politics. He was the last prime minister to serve during the long rule of Emperor Showa. He is the grandfather of musician and actor Daigo. Takeshita was born on 26 February 1924, in present-day Unnan, Shimane Prefecture, the only son of Yuzo Takeshita, a sake brewer and a politician of the Assembly of Shimane Prefecture. His family had been sake brewers for generations, and Takeshita was the 20th head of the Takeshita brewing family. He decided to become a politician when he was in middle school. He attended Waseda University in Tokyo. He married Masae Takeuchi prior to joining the Imperial Japanese Army to serve as an instructor during World War II. His wife committed suicide while he was away for the war. After the war, he remarried, to Naoko Endo, a distant relative, worked as an English teacher and managed a high school judo team before entering politics in 1951. As a young judo competitor, he was known as "master of the draw" for his ability to avoid easy victories over weaker opponents and to avert defeat by stronger opponents. Takeshita served as a local assemblyman in Shimane Prefecture from 1951. In the 1958 general election he won a seat in the House of Representatives, joining the powerful faction of Kakuei Tanaka in the Liberal Democratic Party. His first ministerial post was as chief cabinet secretary in 1971; he later served as minister of construction (1979–80). As minister of finance (1982–86), Takeshita signed the Plaza Accord, an agreement between the world’s wealthy nations to lower the value of the dollar in an effort to reduce trade imbalances. The move sent Japan’s currency, the yen, soaring and led to a series of interest rate cuts. As a result, the country experienced a decade-long “bubble economy,” which was marked by astronomically priced stocks and real estate. In 1986 Takeshita became secretary-general of the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), a position he held for one year. In November 1987 he was handpicked for the post of president of the LDP by his predecessor, Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, and thereby became prime minister of Japan. As prime minister, Takeshita obtained the passage of a new national sales tax. In April 1988 he publicly disclosed that he and several aides had been among those politicians who had received stocks, donations, and loans from Recruit, a Japanese telecommunications firm that had made large financial contributions to many politicians in the hope of obtaining governmental favours. Deepening public dissatisfaction with Takeshita’s involvement in the scandal prompted him on April 25, 1989, to announce his intention to resign. He left office on June 2 but remained active in politics. As head of the largest faction of the LDP, Takeshita helped select a series of prime ministers, including Keizo Obuchi. He was also the mentor of Yoshiro Mori, who replaced Obuchi. One of his top aides committed suicide in 1989, setting off speculation in the Japanese media that he may have chosen death over having to disclose the wrongdoing of his boss. Takeshita was twice married, and survived by three daughters and several grandchildren, including singer Daigo (formerly known as Daigo Stardust) and manga artist Eiki Eiki. He died on 19 June 2000, of respiratory failure at a Tokyo hospital. He was buried at the Takeshita Family Cemetery in Unnan, Shimane Prefecture.