Keizō Obuchi
| Keizō Obuchi | |
|---|---|
| 小渕 恵三 | |
Obuchi at the 25th G8 summit held in Cologne in June 1999
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| 54th Prime Minister of Japan | |
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In office 30 July 1998 – 5 April 2000 |
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| Monarch | Akihito |
| Preceded by | Ryutaro Hashimoto |
| Succeeded by | Mikio Aoki (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 June 1937 Nakanojō, Gunma, Japan |
| Died | 14 May 2000 (aged 62) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Chizuko Ono |
| Children |
Yūko Obuchi 1 son 1 daughter |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
Keizō Obuchi (小渕 恵三 Obuchi Keizō?, 25 June 1937 – 14 May 2000) was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives for twelve terms, and ultimately as the 54th Prime Minister of Japan from 30 July 1998 to 5 April 2000. His political career ended when he suffered a serious and ultimately fatal stroke.
He was born in Nakanojō, Gunma Prefecture on June 25, 1937. At the age of 13, he transferred to a private middle school in Tokyo, and lived in the city for the rest of his life. In 1958, he enrolled at Waseda University as an English literature major, in hopes of becoming a writer. When his father died that same year, he decided to follow in his footsteps, so he changed his major to political science and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1962.
Between January and September 1963, he traveled to thirty-eight countries, completely circumnavigating the globe and taking odd jobs as he went, as he was short on money. These included being a dishwasher, an assistant aikido instructor and a TV camera crew assistant in Berlin which was the most physically demanding. While in the United States, he met Robert F. Kennedy by walking into the attorney general's office.
See also: Obuchi Cabinet
That November, inspired by his talk with Kennedy, he ran for the House of Representatives and was elected to a seat representing Gunma's 3rd district, making him the youngest legislator in Japanese history at 26 years of age. He served his first term in the Diet while pursuing graduate studies at Waseda.
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