Yōhei Kōno

Speaker of the House of RepresentativesIn office
19 November 2003 – 21 July 2009MonarchAkihitoPreceded byTamisuke WatanukiSucceeded byTakahiro YokomichiMinister of Foreign AffairsIn office
5 October 1999 – 26 April 2001Prime MinisterKeizo Obuchi
Yoshiro MoriPreceded byMasahiko KōmuraSucceeded byMakiko TanakaIn office
30 June 1994 – 11 January 1996Prime MinisterTomiichi MurayamaPreceded byKoji KakizawaSucceeded byYukihiko IkedaDeputy Prime Minister of JapanIn office
30 June 1994 – 2 October 1995Prime MinisterTomiichi MurayamaPreceded byVacantSucceeded byRyutaro HashimotoPresident of the Liberal Democratic PartyIn office
9 August 1993 – 2 October 1995Preceded byKiichi MiyazawaSucceeded byRyutaro HashimotoLeader of the OppositionIn office
9 August 1993 – 30 June 1994Prime MinisterMorihiro Hosokawa
Tsutomu HataPreceded bySadao YamahanaSucceeded byToshiki KaifuChief Cabinet SecretaryIn office
12 December 1992 – 9 August 1993Prime MinisterKiichi MiyazawaPreceded byKoichi KatoSucceeded byMasayoshi TakemuraDirector General of the Science and Technology AgencyIn office
28 December 1985 – 22 July 1986Prime MinisterYasuhiro NakasonePreceded byReiichi TakeuchiSucceeded byYataro Mitsubayashi Personal detailsBorn (1937-01-15) 15 January 1937 (age 87)
Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, JapanPolitical partyLiberal Democratic Party of Japan (?–1976, 1986-present)Other political
affiliationsNew Liberal Club (1976–1986)ChildrenTarō KōnoParentAlma materWaseda University

Yōhei Kōno (河野 洋平, Kōno Yōhei, born 15 January 1937) is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as speaker for the longest length since the set up of House of Representatives in 1890.^[1]

He was the president of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations from 1999 to 2013.^[2]

Early life and education

Kōno was born on 15 January 1937, in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, the eldest son of politician Ichirō Kōno. His father served as deputy prime minister and was in charge of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His younger uncle Kenzō Kōno served as the president of the House of Councillors from 1971 to 1977.

After graduating from Waseda University Senior High School, he studied Economics at Waseda University. Upon graduation, Kōno worked with the Marubeni company. In 1967, Kono's political career began due to the death of his father.

Political career

He was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1995 which he had strong influence in the Murayama Cabinet. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and Yoshirō Mori (1993-1995, 1999-2001). He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He was once President of the LDP from 1993 to 1995, and to date is one of two LDP leaders, along with Sadakazu Tanigaki, to have never served as Prime Minister of Japan. As he is one of the pro-China faction of the LDP, he came under pressure domestically in the spring of 2005 when anti-Japanese movements in China became intense due to then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine which he opposed the visit to.

Kōno is known for his acknowledgement of comfort women. During his tenure as Chief Cabinet Secretary, in a speech titled the official statement he made in 1993, made after historian Yoshiaki Yoshimi announced he had discovered in the Defense Agency library in Tokyo documentary evidence that the Imperial Japanese Army established and ran comfort stations, he admitted that the Japanese Imperial Army had been involved, directly and indirectly, in the establishment of comfort stations, and that coercion had been used in the recruitment and retention of the women. His subsequent call for historical research and education aimed at remembering the issue became the basis for addressing the subject of forced prostitution in school history textbooks.

Footnotes

Party political offices
Position established	President of the New Liberal Club 1976–1979	Succeeded by Seiichi Tagawa
Preceded by Seiichi Tagawa	President of the New Liberal Club 1984–1986	Position abolished
Preceded by Kiichi Miyazawa	President of the Liberal Democratic Party 1993–1995	Succeeded by Ryutaro Hashimoto
Political offices
Preceded by Reiichi Takeuchi	Director General of the Science and Technology Agency 1985–1986	Succeeded by Yataro Mitsubayashi
	Chairman of the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission 1985–1986
Preceded by Koichi Kato	Chief Cabinet Secretary 1992–1993	Succeeded by Masayoshi Takemura
Preceded by Koji Kakizawa	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1994–1996	Succeeded by Yukihiko Ikeda
Preceded by Tsutomu Hata	Deputy Prime Minister of Japan 1994–1995	Succeeded by Ryutaro Hashimoto
Preceded by Masahiko Kōmura	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1999–2001	Succeeded by Makiko Tanaka
Preceded by Tamisuke Watanuki	Speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives 2003–2009	Succeeded by Takahiro Yokomichi
Sporting positions
Preceded by Hanji Aoki	President of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations 1999–2013	Succeeded by Hiroshi Yokokawa