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Yasuo Fukuda (福田 康夫 Fukuda Yasuo?, born 16 July 1936) is a Japanese politician who serves as the 91st Prime Minister of Japan. He is also the president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Fukuda was appointed to both posts in September 2007, following Shinzo Abe's resignation. On 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation, triggering a leadership election.[1] Although Japan hosted the G8 summit meeting without mishap, Fukuda 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] He vowed to continue in office until his successor is chosen. Fukuda was the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi.[3] He is the first son of a former Japanese Prime Minister (Takeo Fukuda) to also take up the post.
Early lifeFukuda was born in Takasaki, Gunma, the eldest son of politician (later the 67th Prime Minister) Takeo Fukuda.[3] He grew up in Setagaya, Tokyo, attending Azabu High School and graduating from Waseda University in 1959 with a degree in economics. After university, he joined Maruzen Petroleum (now part of the Cosmo 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 to 1964. While his father Takeo Fukuda was prime minister from 1976 to 1978, Yasuo became a political secretary. From 1978 to 1989, he was a director of the Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, serving as a trustee from 1986 onward. Political careerFukuda ran for the House of Representatives in 1990 and won a seat.[3] He was elected deputy director of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1997 and became Chief Cabinet Secretary to Yoshiro 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. 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, Shinzo Abe succeeded Junichiro Koizumi as leader of the LDP and Prime Minister of Japan. One of his most noted policy goals is to end prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine. In June 2006, Fukuda joined 134 other lawmakers in proposing a secular alternative to the shrine, citing constitutional concerns.[4] Election as Prime MinisterFollowing Abe's resignation in September 2007, Fukuda announced that he would run in the Liberal 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 Minister Nobutaka Machimura, of which Fukuda is a member.[3] Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, who initially had intended to run for the leadership, also backed Fukuda.[5] Fukuda's only competitor for the leadership, Taro Aso, publicly acknowledged the likelihood of his own defeat a week before the election.[6] In the election, on 23 September, Fukuda defeated Aso, receiving 330 votes against Aso's 197.[7] Fukuda was formally elected as Japan's 91st prime minister on 25 September.[8] He received 338 votes, almost 100 more than necessary for a majority, in the House of Representatives; although the House of Councillors (the upper house), led by the opposition Democratic Party, elected Ichiro 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 the Constitution.[8][9] Fukuda and his cabinet were formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito on 26 September.[10] Sudden resignationOn 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation, citing reasons related to improving the flow of the political process. The announcement was sudden, with the call for an emergency press conference issued at 6:00 pm, and the purpose not disclosed until 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the press conference. The resignation was widely compared to the sudden resignation of Abe a year earlier. Fukuda said that while Abe's resignation was due to 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.[11] The resignation will lead to another leadership election within the LDP, and the winner will succeed Fukuda as Prime Minister until the government dissolves the Diet and calls a general election,[12] which is due by September 2009. Taro Aso is viewed as the likely front-runner to replace Fukuda. Fukuda's popularity was hit by a controversial medical plan for elderly people, falling below 30% at one stage. He said:[13][14][15]
ControversiesStatements on "Super Free"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 the Waseda University "Super Free" club[16], according to an article in the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun.[17] 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 the Shukan Bunshun had distorted his comments, stating that he had never intended to defend rape, and told a parliamentary panel afterwards that rape was "a criminal act and an atrocious crime".[18][19] Refueling debateOne of the major issues during Fukuda's first months in office was the status of Japan's Indian Ocean refueling mission.[20] After the September 11 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.[21] Censure motionOn 11 June 2008, a non-binding censure 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 the G8 summit, it attacked his handling of domestic issues including an unpopular medical plan and called for a snap election or his resignation. On Thursday, 12 June, a motion of confidence was passed by the lower house's ruling coalition to counter the censure.[22][23][24][25] CabinetFukuda's cabinet was formed on 26 September 2007.[26] It was almost identical to Abe's.[27] Since his administration started in September, their approval rating has continually dropped. According to Asahi Shimbun newspaper, in late April the disapproval rating of the Cabinet was 60 percent and the approval rating 25 percent.[28] Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his cabinet on 1 August 2008.[29]
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DecorationsIn March 2008, Croatian President Stjepan Mesić presented Fukuda with the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with the Sash and the Croatian Morning Star.[30] The decoration was given to Fukuda for his efforts in promoting friendly relations between Japan and Croatia.[31] See also
References
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