Eisaku Satō
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eisaku Satō
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61st, 62nd and 63rd
Prime Minister of Japan |
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| In office November 9, 1964 – July 7, 1972 |
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| Monarch | Emperor Showa |
| Preceded by | Hayato Ikeda |
| Succeeded by | Kakuei Tanaka |
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| Born | 27 March 1901 Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | June 3, 1975 (aged 74) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Religion | Buddhism and Shinto |
Eisaku Satō (佐藤榮作 Satō Eisaku?, March 27, 1901 – June 3, 1975) was a Japanese politician and the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Prime Minister of Japan, elected on November 9, 1964, and re-elected on February 17, 1967 and January 14, 1970, serving until July 7, 1972. He is the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and studied law at Tokyo Imperial University, becoming a civil servant in the Ministry of Railways. In 1948, he was named vice-minister for transportation.
He entered the Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party, and gradually rose through the ranks of Japanese politics, becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary to Shigeru Yoshida, and in 1952, minister of construction. After the Liberal Party merged with the Japan Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party, Satō became Minister of Finance in the governments of Nobusuke Kishi (his brother) and Hayato Ikeda.
[edit] Prime Minister
Satō succeeded Ikeda after the latter resigned due to ill health. His government was longer than many, and by the late 1960s he appeared to have single-handed control over the entire Japanese government. He was a popular prime minister due to the growing economy; his foreign policy, which was a balancing act between the interests of the United States and China, was more tenuous.
After three terms as prime minister, Satō decided not to run for a fourth. His heir apparent, Takeo Fukuda, won the Sato faction's support in the subsequent Diet elections, but the more popular MITI minister, Kakuei Tanaka, won the vote, ending the Satō faction's dominance.
[edit] Relations with mainland China and Taiwan
Satō repeatedly refused to allow representatives from the People's Republic of China to visit Japan. In 1965, Satō approved a US$150 million loan to Taiwan. He visited Taiwan in 1967. In 1969, Satō insisted that the defense of Taiwan is necessary for the safety of Japan. Satō followed the United States in most major issues, but Satō opposed the Nixon visit to China. Satō also bitterly opposed the entry of the PRC into the United Nations in 1971.
[edit] Nuclear Affairs
Satō introduced the Three Non-Nuclear Principles on December 11, 1967, which means nonproduction, nonpossession, and nonintroduction of nuclear weapons. He later suggested the "Four-Pillars Nuclear Policy". During the prime ministership of Sato, Japan entered the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Diet passed a resolution formally adopting the principles in 1971.
[edit] Okinawa Issues
Since the end of the Second World War, Okinawa had been occupied by the United States. While visiting the United States in January 1965, Sato openly asked President Lyndon Johnson to return Okinawa to Japan. In August 1965, Sato became the first post-war prime minister of Japan to visit Okinawa.
In 1969, Satō struck a deal with U.S. president Richard Nixon to repatriate Okinawa and remove its nuclear weaponry: this deal was controversial because it allowed the U.S. forces in Japan to maintain bases in Okinawa after repatriation. Okinawa was formally returned to Japan in 1971, and from that agreement Japan asserts a claim on the disputed Senkaku Islands as well.
[edit] Later life
Satō shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Seán MacBride in 1974, in recognition of Japan's entry into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and emergence as a peaceful world power. He died in Tokyo the following year.
[edit] Personal
He married Hiroko in 1926 and had two children, Ryutaro and Shinji.
[edit] External links
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