Refrained from Yasukuni Shrine visits to improve ties with Asia... Former Japanese PM Fukuda Yasuo dies at 90

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, who refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine and prioritized improving relations with Asian countries, including South Korea and China, has died at the age of 90.

According to Japan's NHK and Kyodo News on October 26, Fukuda died of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on October 22.

Former Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo during his term in 2008. NHK.

Born in Tokyo in 1936, Fukuda worked for an oil company after graduating from Waseda University before entering politics as a secretary to his father, former Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo. He was first elected to the House of Representatives at age 53 in the 1990 election and went on to win reelection seven times.

He first joined the Cabinet as chief cabinet secretary in 2000 and later served in the same role under the Koizumi Cabinet. In September 2007, after then-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo resigned, Fukuda won the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election and became Japan's 91st prime minister. He made history as the first father and son to both serve as prime minister in Japan's constitutional history.

However, during his tenure as prime minister, he struggled to govern with the opposition controlling the legislature and faced other problems, including a decline in his Cabinet's approval rating. He resigned in September 2008, just one year after taking office.

He was considered a dove within the Liberal Democratic Party who emphasized building friendly relations with Asian countries. Shortly after taking office, when reporters asked whether he would visit Yasukuni Shrine, he replied, "Is there any need to do something the other side dislikes?" and said he would refrain from visiting.

The following year, when reporters again asked whether he would visit Yasukuni Shrine, he dismissed the question, saying, "Look at what I have done in the past." Most Cabinet ministers also refrained from visiting the shrine. His approach stood in contrast to that of former Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, who visited Yasukuni Shrine every year from 2001 to 2006 during his tenure, prompting backlash from South Korea and China.

In 2008, Fukuda held a summit with then-President Lee Myung-bak and emphasized building future-oriented relations between South Korea and Japan. That same year, when then-Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Japan, the two sides agreed to develop a "strategic, mutually beneficial relationship."

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed her condolences over Fukuda's death on October 26, saying, "I am overcome with grief." She described him as "someone who took on difficult challenges with extensive experience and exceptional insight."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.