Kaoru Yosano

Kaoru Yosano (与謝野 馨, Yosano Kaoru) (August 22, 1938 – May 23, 2017) was a Japanese politician. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Sunrise Party of Japan and former member of the House of Representatives, serving his ninth term in the Lower House representing Tokyo's first electoral district until his defeat in the 2009 Japanese general election. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe from August 2007 to September 2007, and Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy in Tarō Asō's administration from February to September 2009.

Kaoru Yosano
与謝野 馨
69th Minister of Finance
In office
18 February 2009 – 16 September 2009
Prime MinisterTarō Asō
Preceded byShōichi Nakagawa
Succeeded byHirohisa Fujii
74th Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
27 August 2007 – 25 September 2007
Prime MinisterShinzō Abe
Preceded byYasuhisa Shiozaki
Succeeded byNobutaka Machimura
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
10 December 1976 - 7 September 1979
23 June 1980 - 2 June 2000
10 November 2003 – 16 November 2012
Constituency
Personal details
Born(1938-08-22)22 August 1938
Kōjimachi, Tokyo, Japan
Died23 May 2017(2017-05-23) (aged 78)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLDP (1976-2010, after 2017)
Other political
affiliations
Parents
  • Shigeru Yosano (father)
  • Michiko Yosano (mother)
Relatives
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
WebsiteOfficial website

Political career

Born the grandson of poets Yosano Akiko and Yosano Tekkan in Tokyo, Yosano graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1963. In 1972 he unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives, then served as secretary to Yasuhiro Nakasone. He ran again in 1976 and was elected. On August 27, 2007, he was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, replacing Yasuhisa Shiozaki. He was replaced by Nobutaka Machimura on September 27 when Yasuo Fukuda succeeded Abe.[1] He was appointed as Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy and Minister of Regulatory Reform on August 1, 2008.[2]

Kaoru Yosano meeting with U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner on April 24, 2009.

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Yosano announced his candidacy for the LDP presidency on September 8, 2008:

"I believe politicians should never mislead the public by showing some rosy pictures. The LDP is facing the biggest crisis since its creation. I will contest the election with high spirits and the courage to lead Japan. Japan is going through a crisis. I will battle the situation for the benefit of the people."[3][4]

In the leadership election, held on September 22, 2008, Tarō Asō was elected with 351 of the 527 votes, while Yosano trailed in second place with 66 votes.[5] In Aso's cabinet, appointed on 24 September 2008, Yosano retained his post as Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy.[6] On February 18, 2009, with the resignation of Shoichi Nakagawa on the case of the G7 conference, he took office as Minister of Finance and Minister in charge of financial services.

On April 4, 2010, Yosano, Takeo Hiranuma, Hiroyuki Sonoda, Takao Fujii and Yoshio Nakagawa announced their plans to leave the LDP to establish a new political party, the Sunrise Party of Japan.[7] He left the Sunrise Party on 13 January 2011[8] to join the Naoto Kan's cabinet as Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy.[9]

Yosano was known for advocating an increase in the consumption tax to reconstruct the nation's debt-ridden fiscal structure. After joining the DPJ government, he drew up the plans for the 2012 consumption tax increase. The legislation was passed through the House of Representatives on June 26, 2012[10] and passed the Upper House on August 10, 2012.[11]

Personal life and death

His hobbies included golf, making computers, photography, fishing, and playing Japanese board games.[1] He was a Roman Catholic.[12]

It was announced on September 5, 2012, that he would not run for re-election as he was suffering from throat cancer and had difficulty speaking.[13] Yosano died on May 23, 2017.[14][15]

References
  1. Japan Times, "Fukuda's new lineup", August 3, 2008.
  2. "Fukuda overhauls Cabinet / LDP executive shakeup also elevates Aso to party No. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, August 2, 2008.
  3. iht.com, Search for next prime minister of Japan puts spotlight on the economy
  4. afp.google.com, Koike launches bid to be Japan's first woman PM Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Aso elected LDP head", The Yomiuri Shimbun, 22 September 2008.
  6. "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 September 2008.
  7. "Yosano, Hiranuma Decide On Name For New Party". Nikkei Shimbun. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  8. Japan Times Yosano exits party, seen angling for ruling bloc January 14, 2012
  9. Japan Times New team seen prioritizing TPP entry, sales tax hike January 15, 2012
  10. Japan Times Lower House passes bill to double sales tax June 27, 2012
  11. Japan Times Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy August 11, 2012
  12. Michael., Doak, Kevin (2011). Xavier's legacies : Catholicism in modern Japanese culture. UBC Press. OCLC 1239778842.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. Japan Times Tax hike architect Yosano ill, to retire from politics September 6, 2012
  14. Yoshida, Reiji (2017-05-24). "Former lawmaker and finance chief Kaoru Yosano dies at 78". Japan Times.
  15. Banri Kaieda
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