Koichi Kato (LDP)

Koichi Kato
加藤 紘一
Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan
In office 1991–1992
Preceded by	Misoji Sakamoto
Succeeded by	Yōhei Kōno

Koichi Kato (加藤 紘一, Katō Kōichi^?, 17 June 1939 – 9 September 2016) was a Japanese politician who held a seat in the House of Representatives in the National Diet for 13 terms between 1972 and 2012 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. After losing his seat at the December 2012 general election, his daughter Ayuko Kato regained the seat for the LDP at the following election. His father, Seizo Kato (), also sat in the House of Representatives for five terms between 1952 and 1965.

Kato was born in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. After graduating from the University of Tokyo he joined the Foreign ministry in 1963, which led to stints at the Japanese embassies in Taipei and Washington, D.C. In 1967 he completed a Master's degree at Harvard University. After continuing his foreign service career in Hong Kong he returned to Japan as an aide in the China Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Ministry. His experience in foreign affairs resulted in fluent English and Chinese, and he remains deeply interested in relations with China.

Kato was first elected to the Diet in 1972, representing his native Yamagata and has represented that area continuously until 2012, except for a 19-month period following his resignation due to a scandal in April 2002. He was aligned with the Kōchikai (then called Ōhira) faction of the LDP, which produced three Japanese Prime Ministers; Masayoshi Ōhira, Zenkō Suzuki, and Kiichi Miyazawa. The power of this faction provided Kato ample opportunity for promotion, and he served in several Cabinet Positions through the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, he was elected Secretary-General of the LDP, a time when the traditional dominance of the party was being challenged.

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