Hideo Watanabe (渡辺 秀央,Watanabe Hideo, July 5, 1934 – July 31, 2024) was a Japanese politician of theDemocratic Party of Japan who was a member of theHouse of Representatives andHouse of Councillors in theDiet (national legislature) from 1976 to 1993 and 1998 to 2010 respectively.
A native ofTochio, Niigata and graduate ofTakushoku University, he was elected to theHouse of Representatives in the1976 general election as part of the rulingLiberal Democratic Party, and re-elected five times before losing his seat in the pivotal1993 general election.
He joined theNew Frontier Party in 1997 and then won a seat on theLiberal Party proportional representation slate for theHouse of Councillors in the1998 election. He led electoral cooperation talks between the LP and LDP which broke down in March 2000 concurrently with failed merger talks between party presidentsKeizo Obuchi andIchiro Ozawa.[1] The LP subsequently merged with theDemocratic Party of Japan and Watanabe retained his House of Councillors seat on the DPJ slate in the2004 election.
He left the DPJ in 2008 to start the Reform Club, which became theNew Renaissance Party in April 2010 under the leadership ofYoichi Masuzoe. Watanabe retired from politics upon refusing to run in the2010 House of Councillors election.
Watanabe was the chairman ofJapan-Myanmar Friendship Association. Watanabe first provided aid to Myanmar in 1987 and then began interacting with the military. He has had close ties with the military's proxyUnion Solidarity and Development Party since the time of ex-generalThein Sein’s quasi-civilian government. It is said that he has been close to Senior GeneralMin Aung Hlaing for over a decade, and they met shortly before and after the February 2021 coup. Following the military coup d'état, he toldThe Asahi Shimbun newspaper that Min Aung Hlaing had not staged a coup but "done what he should have in accordance with the law".[2][3] In November 2022, he was awarded the title ofThiri Pyanchi, one of the country's highest honors.[4]
Watanabe died on July 31, 2024, at the age of 90.[5]
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