The former Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda has died at the age of 90. The death of the veteran leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was made public this Monday, although it took place on October 22, according to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Fukuda leaves behind a unique political career, having starred in the first and only case in the constitutional history of the country in which a father (Takeo Fukuda) and his son both came to hold the head of government.
Born in Tokyo in 1936, Fukuda began his professional life in an oil company before entering politics as his father's secretary. In 1990, he obtained a seat in the House of Representatives for the first time and, since then, quickly rose through the ranks of the LDP, where he stood out for his role as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the government of Yoshiro Mori.
Fukuda assumed the head of the Executive in September 2007, at the age of 71, taking over after the resignation of Shinzo Abe. His time at the head of the government, which lasted barely a year, was conditioned by a House of Councillors dominated by the opposition, which blocked much of his legislative program. That context caused a notable institutional wear of his leadership, which ultimately led to a motion of censure in the House of Councillors.
After "successfully hosting the G8 summit in Hokkaido and agreeing on long-term goals for emission reductions." The continuous frictions within the ruling coalition and his low levels of public support pushed him to resign in September 2008. He definitively stepped away from the political front line in 2012, transferring his electoral stronghold to his eldest son, Tatsuo Fukuda.