Kakuei Tanaka | |
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田中 角栄 | |
Tanaka in 1954
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40th Prime Minister of Japan | |
In office 7 July 1972 – 9 December 1974 |
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Monarch | Shōwa |
Preceded by | Eisaku Satō |
Succeeded by | Takeo Miki |
Personal details | |
Born |
Nishiyama, Japan |
4 May 1918
Died | 16 December 1993 Tokyo, Japan |
(aged 75)
Political party | Liberal Democratic Party (1955–1993) |
Other political affiliations |
Democratic Party (1947–1950) Democratic Liberal Party (1950–1955) |
Spouse(s) | Hana Sakamoto |
Children | Masanori Tanaka (by Hana Sakamoto, died age 4) Makiko Tanaka (by Hana Sakamoto) (by Tsujiwako) Hitoshi Tanaka (by Tsujiwako) Atsuko Sato (by ) |
Signature |
Kakuei Tanaka (田中 角栄 or 田中 角榮 Tanaka Kakuei?, 4 May 1918 – 16 December 1993) was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 26 April 1947 to 24 January 1990, and as the 40th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 9 December 1974 (his two terms being divided by the 1972 general election).
After a power struggle with Takeo Fukuda, he became the most influential member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s. He was a central figure in several political scandals, culminating in the Lockheed bribery scandals of 1976 which led to his arrest and trial; he was found guilty by two lower courts, but his case remained open before the Supreme Court through his death. The scandals, coupled with a debilitating stroke he suffered in 1985, led to the collapse of his political faction, with most members regrouping under the leadership of Noboru Takeshita in 1987.
He was nicknamed Kaku-san and was known as the "Shadow Shogun" (闇将軍 Yami-shōgun?). His political-economic direction is called the construction state (土建国家 Doken Kokka?). He was strongly identified with the construction industry but never served as construction minister. His daughter Makiko Tanaka and son-in-law Naoki Tanaka remain active political figures in Japan.