Kenji Fukunaga

Kenji Fukunaga (福永 健司, Fukunaga Kenji, 5 August 1910 31 May 1988) was a Japanese politician who was Chief Cabinet Secretary on four separate occasions, and, as well as serving in various other cabinet positions, was also appointed as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan.[2] He was also seen as an influential voice within the Liberal Democratic Party.[3]

Kenji Fukunaga
福永 健司
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
26 December 1983  24 January 1985
Preceded byHajime Fukuda
Succeeded byMichita Sakata[1]
Minister of Transport
In office
28 November 1977  7 December 1978
Prime MinisterTakeo Fukuda
Preceded byHajime Tamura
Succeeded byKinji Moriyama
Minister of Health and Welfare
In office
11 November 1974  9 December 1974
Prime MinisterKakuei Tanaka
Preceded byKunikichi Saito
Succeeded byMasami Tanaka
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
3 December 1966  22 June 1967
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byKiichi Aichi
Succeeded byToshio Kimura
Minister of Labour
In office
18 July 1961  18 July 1962
Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda
Preceded byHirohide Ishida
Succeeded byTakeo Ōhashi
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
24 March 1953  10 December 1954
Prime MinisterShigeru Yoshida
Preceded byTaketora Ogata
Succeeded byRyūtaro Nemoto
Personal details
Born(1910-08-05)August 5, 1910
Koka, Shiga, Japan
DiedMay 31, 1988(1988-05-31) (aged 77)
Alma materTokyo Imperial University

Early life

Fukunaga was born on 5 August 1910, in Koka, Shiga.[3] He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1933.[3]

Career

After initially working in textiles, and rising to a management position, Fukunaga entered the world of politics and became deputy governor of Saitama Prefecture in 1947.[3] In 1949, Fukunaga stood for election and became the representative from Saitama 5th (a seat he retained 15 times).[2][3]

In his early years in politics, Fukunaga received extensive political tutoring from Shigeru Yoshida, and became a protégé of his, serving in his cabinet twice as Chief Cabinet Secretary.[2][3] He then reprised that role in the cabinet of Eisaku Satō, serving as Chief Cabinet Secretary twice more, while he briefly served as Minister of Labour in the interim period under Hayato Ikeda.[2] It was under Satō that Fukunaga came into his own, serving as Chair of the LDP General Council in the late 1960s, and playing a key role as a special ambassador in the Japanese government's response to the Lod Airport massacre.[3][4][5][6]

In the 1970s, Fukunaga also served in the Tanaka and Fukuda cabinets, and a few years before his death was appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, a post he retained until 1985.[2][3] He remained a key figure within the party until his death.[3] Fukunaga passed away on 31 May 1988.[2]

Honours

References

  1. "Speakers and Vice-Speakers of the House of Representatives". The House of Representatives, Japan. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  2. "福永健司". Kotobank. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. "福永 健司". Kotobank. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. "自由民主党歴代執行部". 戦後政治史ふぁん倶楽部. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  5. "Nixon deplores massacre; Japan apologizes to Israel". Long Beach Independent. 5 June 1972. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  6. "Israel Massacre". AP. 5 June 1972. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
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