Yōhei Kōno

Yōhei Kōno (河野 洋平, Kōno Yōhei, born 15 January 1937) is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as speaker for the longest length since the set up of House of Representatives in 1890.[1]

Yōhei Kōno
河野 洋平
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
19 November 2003  21 July 2009
MonarchAkihito
Preceded byTamisuke Watanuki
Succeeded byTakahiro Yokomichi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
5 October 1999  26 April 2001
Prime MinisterKeizo Obuchi
Yoshiro Mori
Preceded byMasahiko Kōmura
Succeeded byMakiko Tanaka
In office
30 June 1994  11 January 1996
Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama
Preceded byKoji Kakizawa
Succeeded byYukihiko Ikeda
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan
In office
30 June 1994  2 October 1995
Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama
Preceded byVacant
Succeeded byRyutaro Hashimoto
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
In office
9 August 1993  2 October 1995
Preceded byKiichi Miyazawa
Succeeded byRyutaro Hashimoto
Leader of the Opposition
In office
9 August 1993  30 June 1994
Prime MinisterMorihiro Hosokawa
Tsutomu Hata
Preceded bySadao Yamahana
Succeeded byToshiki Kaifu
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
12 December 1992  9 August 1993
Prime MinisterKiichi Miyazawa
Preceded byKoichi Kato
Succeeded byMasayoshi Takemura
Director General of the Science and Technology Agency
In office
28 December 1985  22 July 1986
Prime MinisterYasuhiro Nakasone
Preceded byReiichi Takeuchi
Succeeded byYataro Mitsubayashi
Personal details
Born (1937-01-15) 15 January 1937
Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party of Japan
ChildrenTarō Kōno
Parent
Alma materWaseda University

He was the president of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations from 1999 to 2013.[2]

Early life and education

Kōno was born on 15 January 1937, in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, the eldest son of politician Ichirō Kōno. His father served as deputy prime minister and was in charge of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His younger uncle Kenzō Kōno served as the president of the House of Councillors from 1971 to 1977.

After graduating from Waseda University Senior High School, he studied Economics at Waseda University. Upon graduation, Kōno worked with the Marubeni company. In 1967, Kono's political career began due to the death of his father.

Political career

Kono with members of Murayama Reshuffled Cabinet (at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on 8 August 1995). Despite Murayama served as Prime Minister, Kono as leader of the LDP led the Cabinet.

He was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1995 which he had strong influence in the Murayama Cabinet. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and Yoshirō Mori (1993-1995, 1999-2001). He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He was once President of the LDP from 1993 to 1995, and to date is one of two LDP leaders, along with Sadakazu Tanigaki, to have never served as Prime Minister of Japan. As he is one of the pro-China faction of the LDP, he came under pressure domestically in the spring of 2005 when anti-Japanese movements in China became intense due to then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine which he opposed the visit to.

Kōno is known for his acknowledgement of comfort women. During his tenure as Chief Cabinet Secretary, in a speech titled the official statement he made in 1993, made after historian Yoshiaki Yoshimi announced he had discovered in the Defense Agency library in Tokyo documentary evidence that the Imperial Japanese Army established and ran comfort stations, he admitted that the Japanese Imperial Army had been involved, directly and indirectly, in the establishment of comfort stations, and that coercion had been used in the recruitment and retention of the women. His subsequent call for historical research and education aimed at remembering the issue became the basis for addressing the subject of forced prostitution in school history textbooks.

Footnotes

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