Yasuo Fukuda (福田 康夫,Fukuda Yasuo; born 16 July 1936) is a Japanese politician who served asPrime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-servingChief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime MinistersYoshirō Mori andJunichiro Koizumi. His record was surpassed byYoshihide Suga, who served almost twice as long.[1]
Following the resignation of Prime MinisterShinzo Abe, Fukudawas elected asPresident of the Liberal Democratic Party and became prime minister in September 2007. Fukuda was the first son of a former Japanese Prime Minister (Takeo Fukuda) to also take up the post. On 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation as party leader, and was succeeded byTarō Asō. Although Japan hosted theG8 summit meeting without mishap during Fukuda's time in office, he himself earned little or no credit from ordinary Japanese, and when he resigned, he became the first of the G8 leaders to leave office.[2]
Fukuda was born inTakasaki, Gunma, the eldest son of politician (later the 67th Prime Minister)Takeo Fukuda.[1] He grew up inSetagaya, Tokyo, attendingAzabu High School and graduating fromWaseda University in 1959 with a degree in economics. After university, he joined Maruzen Petroleum (now part of theCosmo Oil Company). He was only minimally involved in politics over the next seventeen years, working his way up to section chief as a typical Japanese "salaryman". He was posted to the United States from 1962-64. While his father Takeo Fukuda was prime minister from 1976–78, Yasuo became a political secretary. From 1978 to 1989, he was a director of theKinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, serving as a trustee from 1986 onward.[citation needed][3]
Fukuda also served as president of the Japanese Canoe Federation prior to his September 2007 election as prime minister.[4]
Fukuda ran for theHouse of Representatives in 1990 and won a seat.[1] He was elected deputy director of theLiberal Democratic Party in 1997 and became Chief Cabinet Secretary toYoshirō Mori in October 2000. He resigned his position as Chief Cabinet Secretary on 7 May 2004 amid a large political scandal related to the Japanese pension system.[citation needed]
Fukuda was considered a contender for the leadership of the LDP in 2006, but, on 21 July, he decided that he would not seek the nomination. Instead,Shinzō Abe succeededJunichirō Koizumi as leader of the LDP andPrime Minister of Japan. One of his most noted policy goals is to end prime ministerial visits toYasukuni Shrine. In June 2006, Fukuda joined 134 other lawmakers in proposing a secular alternative to the shrine, citing constitutional concerns.[5]
Following Abe's resignation in September 2007, Fukuda announced that he would run in theLiberal Democratic Party leadership election, which would also determine the prime minister, given the LDP's majority in the House of Representatives.
Fukuda received a great deal of support in his bid, including that of the LDP's largest faction, led by Foreign MinisterNobutaka Machimura, of which Fukuda is a member.[1] Finance MinisterFukushiro Nukaga, who initially had intended to run for the leadership, also backed Fukuda.[6] Fukuda's only competitor for the leadership,Tarō Asō, publicly acknowledged the likelihood of his own defeat a week before the election.[7]
In the election, on 23 September, Fukuda defeated Aso, receiving 330 votes against Aso's 197.[8] Fukuda was formally elected as Japan's 91st prime minister on 25 September.[9] He received 338 votes, almost 100 more than necessary for a majority, in the House of Representatives; although theHouse of Councillors (the upper house), led by the oppositionDemocratic Party, electedIchirō Ozawa over Fukuda by a margin of 133 to 106. This deadlock was then resolved in favor of the lower house's choice, according to Article 67 of theConstitution.[9][10]
Fukuda and his cabinet were formally sworn in by EmperorAkihito on 26 September.[11]
On 11 June 2008, anon-bindingcensure motion was passed by parliament's opposition-controlled upper house against Yasuo Fukuda. Filed by the Democratic Party of Japan and two other parties, it was the first censure motion against a prime minister under Japan's post-war constitution. Ahead of theG8 summit, it attacked his handling of domestic issues including an unpopular medical plan and called for a snap election or his resignation.[12][13][14]
On 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation, citing reasons related to improving the flow of the political process. The sudden announcement began with a call for an emergency press conference issued at 6:00 pm, with the purpose not disclosed until 10 minutes prior to its scheduled start. The resignation was widely compared to the sudden resignation of Abe a year earlier. Fukuda said that while Abe's resignation was for health reasons, his own resignation was motivated by a desire to remove impediments to legislative and political process due to deadlock between his party and the opposition-controlled upper house of the Diet.[16]
The resignation led toanother leadership election within the LDP. Tarō Asō was viewed as the likely front-runner to replace Fukuda, and was elected a week later.[17] His popularity was hit by a controversial medical plan for elderly people, falling below 30% at one stage. He said:[18][19]
Today, I have decided to resign. We need a new line-up to cope with a new session of parliament. My decision is based on what I thought the future political situation ought to be. The Democratic Party has tried to stall every bill so it has taken a long time to implement any policies. For the sake of the Japanese people, this should not be repeated. If we are to prioritize the people's livelihoods, there cannot be a political vacuum from political bargaining, or a lapse in policies. We need a new team to carry out policies.
Taro Asowas elected to succeed Fukuda as LDP President on 22 September. Fukuda and his cabinet resigneden masse on 24 September 2008, to make way for a new Cabinet headed by Aso. Aso was elected as prime minister by the National Diet on the same day.[20]
Fukuda did not run in the2012 general election and retired from politics. In June 2014, he visitedBeijing for secret meetings with Chinese government officials. The meeting was seen as the first after nearly 18 months between a senior Japanese political leader and Chinese officials. During the meeting, Fukuda was passed the message thatChinese leaderXi Jinping wanted to meet with theJapanese Prime MinisterShinzō Abe. Following this, in late July Fukuda conveyed the details of the discussion to Abe. On getting the consent from Abe, Fukuda returned to Beijing and on 28 July informed Xi about the consent from Abe, and thus laid the groundwork for the Japan-China summit that was held in November 2014.[21][22]In 2018, Fukuda met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during the 4th round of dialogue between entrepreneurs and former senior officials of China and Japan[23]
In July 2019, Fukuda addressed the two-day Sino-US trade relations forum in Hong Kong, attended by high-level attendees included former Chinese vice-premierZeng Peiyan and other previous government heads and officials, as well as entrepreneurs and scholars from around the world. Fukuda urged China to seriously consider what role it wanted to play on the world stage, describing it as“the most serious issue of the era that we are faced with”...“Each step China takes not only affects relations between the United States and China, but also the entire world,” he said.[24]
When Fukuda was Chief Cabinet Secretary to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi he was reported to have made highly controversial comments during an off-the-record discussion with reporters in June 2003 regarding the victims of rape by male members of theWaseda University "Super Free" club,[26] according to an article in the weekly magazineShukan Bunshun.[27]
The magazine quoted Fukuda as saying: "There are women who look like they are saying 'Do it to me'. Those who have that kind of appearance are at fault, because men are black panthers." In response, Fukuda claimed that theShukan Bunshun had distorted his comments, stating that he had never intended to defend rape, and told a parliamentary panel afterward that rape was "a criminal act and an atrocious crime."[28][29]
One of the major issues during Fukuda's first months in office was the status of Japan's Indian Ocean refueling mission.[30] After the11 September attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, the Diet passed a bill that allowed Japanese oil tankers to provide fuel for American ships involved in military operations. When Fukuda became prime minister he vowed to continue the mission, this despite the fact that the DPJ which opposed the authorization bill now had a majority in the upper house. After several months of debate and aborted attempts at compromise the upper house rejected the bill to continue the mission. However, the bill ultimately became law as Fukuda used the LDP's 2/3 majority in the lower house to win successful passage for the bill.[31]
Fukuda's cabinet was formed on 26 September 2007.[32] It was almost identical to Abe's.[33] After his administration started, the Cabinet's approval rating continually declined. According to theAsahi Shimbun newspaper, in late April 2008 the disapproval rating of the Cabinet was 60 percent and the approval rating at 25 percent. Fukuda reshuffled his cabinet on 1 August 2008.[34]
^Edström, Bert (2008).Struggle, Strife, and Stalemate: Struggle, Strife, and Stalemate: Yasuo Fukuda and Present- Yasuo Fukuda and Present-day Japanese Politics. Institute for Security and Development Policy. p. 17.ISBN978-91-85937-23-3.
^"Members of the Abe Cabinet".Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved28 September 2007. NB: Despite the title of the page it is indeed the list of members of Fukuda Cabinet.
^"Japan-Croatia Summit Meeting". Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. 5 March 2008.Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved10 March 2008.
