| Masayoshi Ōhira 大平 正芳 |
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|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 7 December 1978 – 12 June 1980 |
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| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Preceded by | Takeo Fukuda |
| Succeeded by | Masayoshi Itō (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1910 Kan'onji, Kagawa, Japan |
| Died | 12 June 1980 (aged 70) |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Hitotsubashi University |
| Religion | Anglicanism |
Masayoshi Ōhira (大平 正芳 Ōhira Masayoshi, March 12, 1910 – June 12, 1980) was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.
He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University.
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At the apex of his political life, Ōhira came to represent what were known as "mainstream factions" within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which put him at odds with Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, who led what were known as an "anti-mainstream" faction.[1]
Ōhira was elected to the presidency of the LDP in late 1978.
On December 7, 1978, he was appointed 68th Prime Minister, successfully pushing Takeo Fukuda from his position.[2]
Ōhira was the sixth Christian to hold this office after Hara Takashi, Takahashi Korekiyo, Ichirō Hatoyama, Tetsu Katayama, and Shigeru Yoshida.
In the general election of 1979, the LDP narrowly failed to win an outright majority, but enough independent members of the Diet joined the party to enable Ōhira to remain in office, and he was duly reappointed on November 9 of that year. On May 16, 1980, a vote of no confidence was held in the Diet.
Ōhira expected the motion to fail, and was visibly shaken when it passed 243-187. Sixty-nine members of his own LDP, including Fukuda, abstained. Given the choice of resigning or calling new elections, Ōhira chose the latter and began campaigning for LDP candidates. He was hospitalized for exhaustion on May 31 and died of a massive heart attack 12 days later.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Masayoshi Ito acted in Ōhira's place as deputy after his death. Yoshio Sakurauchi, the Secretary General of LDP, led the LDP to its greatest victory in fifteen years, capitalizing on the sympathy vote generated by Ōhira's death. The Prime Minister was succeeded by Zenko Suzuki after the election.
In 1979, Ōhira was the chairman of the 5th G7 summit in Tokyo and its host but his fatal heart attack on June 12 happened only days before the 6th G7 summit was about to begin in Italy. Ōhira's colleague, Foreign Affairs Minister Saburo Okita, led the delegation which represented Japan in his place. Others joining Okita in traveling to the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore were Finance Minister Noboru Takeshita and the head of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zentaro Kosaka |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 1962–1964 |
Succeeded by Etsusaburo Shiina |
| Preceded by Takeo Fukuda |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 1972–1974 |
Succeeded by Toshio Kimura |
| Prime Minister of Japan 1978–1980 |
Succeeded by Masayoshi Itō Acting |
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| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Helmut Schmidt |
Chair of the G7 1979 |
Succeeded by Francesco Cossiga |
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