TOKYO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Yohei Kono, former president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), passed away at the age of 89 on Monday, local media reported Wednesday.
In 1993, Kono, then chief cabinet secretary, issued the landmark Kono Statement, acknowledging the Japanese military's direct involvement in setting up "comfort stations" and forcibly recruiting women on the Korean Peninsula, in China, and elsewhere, and offering an apology and expressing remorse for these actions.
Born in 1937, Kono was the son of former Japanese agriculture and forestry minister Ichiro Kono. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1967.
Kono became LDP president in 1993 after the party lost power. The following year, he was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. He also served as speaker of the House of Representatives and was one of Japan's most prominent political figures.
Kono was devoted to promoting friendship between Japan and China. During a visit to China in June 2025 as president of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, he said history should not be forgotten, nor should it be denied. The past cannot be changed, but the future can be shaped through efforts. ■