TOKYO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who had long been committed to the China-Japan friendship, died of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on Oct. 22. He was 90.
Fukuda came from a prominent political family. He and his father, Takeo Fukuda, remain the only father and son to have both served as prime minister of Japan since 1885.
A longtime friend of the Chinese people, Fukuda made positive contributions to improving and developing China-Japan relations.
FROM OIL COMPANY EMPLOYEE TO PRIME MINISTER
Born in 1936, Fukuda graduated from Japan's Waseda University in 1959 and went on to work for an oil company for 17 years, an experience that gradually shaped his steady, cautious, and even-tempered character.
Fukuda originally had no plans to enter politics. But when his younger brother, seen as the family's political heir, fell ill, Fukuda, as the eldest son, took on the role.
In November 1976, shortly before his father became prime minister that December, Fukuda left the oil company to work as his father's secretary, a job he held for 13 years.
Fukuda was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 at the age of 53, taking over his father's former seat. Between 2000 and 2004, he served as chief cabinet secretary for three and a half years under then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his successor Junichiro Koizumi.
Fukuda became prime minister in September 2007. He was 71, the same age at which his father had taken the post.
A year later, in September 2008, Fukuda abruptly announced his resignation at a time when his government was struggling to function in a divided parliament, with the opposition in control of the upper house. In 2012, he retired from politics.
COMMITTED TO CHINA-JAPAN FRIENDSHIP
Fukuda championed sound, long-term ties between China and Japan.
Of the four political documents China and Japan have signed since normalizing diplomatic relations in 1972, two are closely related to Fukuda and his father.
On Oct. 23, 1978, Takeo Fukuda, then prime minister of Japan, and Deng Xiaoping, then Chinese leader, attended the ceremony for the exchange of instruments of ratification of the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, bringing the treaty into force. Yasuo Fukuda, serving as his father's secretary at the time, was also present and witnessed the ceremony.
During Yasuo Fukuda's tenure as prime minister, the two countries issued the China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit in 2008.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing on Monday that China expresses deep condolences over the passing of Fukuda, and offers sincere sympathies to his family.
Noting that Fukuda was an old friend of China who had made positive contributions to improving and developing China-Japan relations, Guo recalled that Fukuda once said the four political documents between China and Japan set out the principles governing bilateral relations, which must always be borne in mind, with no backtracking on these principles.
Those firm and important remarks reflected the honor and responsibility of Japan's statesmen of the older generation and should evoke self-reflection and soul-searching among those currently running the Japanese government, the spokesperson said.
In an interview with Xinhua in 2023, Fukuda said: "Geographically, Japan and China are neighbors and have very close cultural ties. Both sides must abide by the spirit of the political documents and avoid conflict in the future. This is the mission of both Japan and China."
On historical issues, Fukuda believed that visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese prime ministers did Japan itself no good, saying there was "no need to do things that offend the other side," referring to China and South Korea. Because he did not visit the shrine while in office, Fukuda was labeled "pro-China" by Japan's right-wing conservatives.
In his later years, Fukuda remained committed to China-Japan friendship. As chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia from 2010 to 2018, he witnessed China's continued opening up and rapid economic growth. He supported the China-proposed vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, and led the founding of the Japan Asian Community Culture Cooperation Organization.
In June 2018, Fukuda paid a visit to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. There, he laid a wreath for the victims and wrote in calligraphy the Chinese characters "he ping dong ya," meaning "peace in East Asia." ■