Ryutaro Hashimoto
Ryutaro Hashimoto | |
82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan
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In office January 11th, 1996 – July 30, 1998 |
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Monarch | Akihito |
Preceded by | Tomiichi Murayama |
Succeeded by | Keizo Obuchi |
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Born | July 29, 1937 Soja, Okayama Prefecture Japan |
Died | July 1, 2006 (aged 68) |
Nationality | Japanese |
Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
Ryutaro Hashimoto (橋本龍太郎 Hashimoto Ryūtarō, July 29, 1937 - July 1, 2006) was a Japanese politician who served as the 82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan from January 11, 1996 to July 30, 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politics until scandal forced him to resign his leadership position in 2004. Disgraced, he chose not to stand in the General Election of 2005, and effectively retired from politics. He died on July 1, 2006 at a Tokyo hospital.
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Early political life
He was born in Soja City, Okayama Prefecture. His father, , was a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Following his father's lead, Ryutaro received his degree in political science from Keio University in 1960, and was elected to the House of Representatives of Japan in 1963.
He moved through the ranks of the Liberal Democratic Party over the next twenty years, landing a spot as Minister of Health and Welfare under premier Ohira Masayoshi in 1978, and in 1980 became the LDP's director of finance and public administration. He again became a cabinet minister in 1986 under Nakasone Yasuhiro, and in 1989 became secretary general of the LDP, the highest rank short of prime minister.
Hashimoto became a key figure in the strong LDP faction founded by Tanaka Kakuei in the 1970s, which later fell into the hands of Takeshita Noboru, who then was tainted by the Recruit scandal of 1988. The LDP momentarily lost power following the collapse of the bubble economy, and in 1991, the press discovered that one of Hashimoto's secretaries had been involved in an illegal financial dealing. Hashimoto retired as Minister of Finance, but was almost immediately brought back to the cabinet, this time under coalition premier Murayama Tomiichi as Minister of International Trade and Industry. As the chief of MITI, Hashimoto made himself known at meetings of APEC and at summit conferences.
Prime Minister
When Murayama stepped down in 1996, the LDP elected Hashimoto to become Japan's next prime minister.
Hashimoto's popularity was largely based on his attitude. Famously, when asked about why Japanese car dealerships didn't sell American cars, he answered, "Why doesn't IBM sell Fujitsu computers?" However, when Japan's economy didn't seem to be recovering from its 1991 collapse, Hashimoto ordered a commission of experts from the private sector to look into improving the Japanese market for foreign competition, and eventually opening it completely. This gave Hashimoto the political capital he needed to dissolve the Diet in 1996 and win re-election.
However, during the Upper House elections 1998, the LDP lost its majority. Hashimoto resigned to take responsibility for this failure, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Foreign Minister Obuchi Keizo.
Later political life
Hashimoto remained in the upper echelons of the LDP and led his faction for several more years. In 2001, he was one of the main candidates in the running to replace Mori Yoshiro as prime minister, but he lost the primary election to the more popular Koizumi Junichiro.
Hashimoto's faction began to collapse late in 2003 while debating over whether to re-elect Koizumi. In 2004, Hashimoto stepped down as faction leader when he was found to have accepted a ¥100 million check from the , and announced that he would not run for re-election in his lower house district.
Family
The current governor of Kochi Prefecture, , is his half-brother.
House of Representatives member is his second son.
Trivia
Ryutaro Hashimoto achieved the level of sixth degree black belt (6th dan) in Kendo, the art of Japanese fencing.
External links
- Reuters. (2006, July 1). Former Japan PM Hashimonto dies at 68. In Chinadaily.com. Retrieved on July 23, 2006.
- Junichiro Koizumi. August 8, 2006. Memorial Address at the Joint Memorial Service by the Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party for the Late Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto. [1] Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
Preceded by Tomiichi Murayama |
Prime Minister of Japan 1996-1998 |
Succeeded by Keizo Obuchi |
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