Okiharu Yasuoka

Okiharu Yasuoka (保岡 興治, Yasuoka Okiharu, 11 May 1939 – 19 April 2019) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kagoshima Prefecture and graduate of Chuo University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1972 as an independent. He later joined the LDP and served as the Minister of Justice from 2000 to 2001. He was later returned to the post of Minister of Justice under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on 1 August 2008.[1]

Okiharu Yasuoka
保岡 興治
Okiharu Yasuoka
Minister of Justice
In office
2 August 2008 – 24 September 2008
Prime MinisterYasuo Fukuda
Preceded byKunio Hatoyama
Succeeded byEisuke Mori
In office
4 July 2000 – 5 December 2000
Prime MinisterYoshirō Mori
Preceded byHideo Usui
Succeeded byMasahiko Kōmura
Member of the Japanese Parliament
for Kagoshima 1st district
In office
11 December 1972 – 28 September 2017
Preceded byTakehisa Yasuoka
Succeeded byHiroshi Kawauchi
Personal details
Born(1939-05-11)11 May 1939
Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Died19 April 2019(2019-04-19) (aged 79)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materChuo University

Yasuoka was a licensed attorney. He left the LDP in 1994 to join the now-defunct Shinshinto party, but returned to the LDP in 1995. Yasuoka is known to have worked himself and his staff very long hours. He was one of the key participants in the launch of Fukuda's administration in 2007. Yasuoka also chaired the LDP's Constitution Research Commission.[2]

An avid jogger and swimmer, Yasuoka repeatedly swam the 2.1 km-wide Kinko Bay in Kagoshima Prefecture.[3]

In October 2017, Yasuoka retired after doctors discovered his cancer. Yasuoka's son ran, but lost to Hiroshi Kawauchi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.[4]

Yasuoka died of cancer on 19 April 2019 at a Tokyo hospital, at the age of 79.[5]

References
  1. "Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 August 2008.
  2. Japan Times, "Fukuda's new linuep", 3 August 2008, P. 3.
  3. Japan Times, "Fukuda's new linuep", 3 August 2008, P. 3.
  4. "立民川内氏返り咲き 鹿児島１区 自民は火種残す". Nishinippon Shimbun. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. "Former Japanese Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka dies at 79". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.


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