FOREIGN OFFICE FILES FOR JAPAN AND THE FAR EAST

Series Two: British Foreign Office Files for Post-War Japan

(Public Record Office Class FO 371 & FCO 21)

Part 6: Complete files for 1966-1968

(PRO Class FO 371/187076-187142 & FCO 21/238-299)

Part 7: Complete files for 1969-1971

(PRO Class FCO 21/555-593, 636-639, 720-769, 798-800 & 877-926)

NOTES ON KEY PERSONALITIES

Eisaku Sato (1901-1975)

He entered the Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party and gradually rose through the ranks of Japanese politics, becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary to Yoshida Shigeru, and in 1952, Minister of Construction. After the Liberal Party merged with the Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party, Sato became Minister of Finance in the governments of Nobusuke Kishi and Hayato Ikeda.

Sato succeeded Ikeda after the latter resigned due to ill health. His government was one of the longest-lived in Japanese history. He served as Prime Minister from 9 November 1964 and was re-elected on 17 February 1967 and on 14 January 1970 continuing in office until 7 July 1972. By the late 1960s he seemed to have single-handed control over the entire Japanese government. He was popular with the people due to the growing economy. His foreign policy, which was a balancing act between good relations with the United States on the one hand and China on the other, aroused more criticism.

In 1969 Sato struck a deal with President Nixon whereby the US repatriated Okinawa and removed its nuclear weaponry. This deal was controversial because it allowed the US forces in Japan to maintain bases in Okinawa after repatriation.

After three terms as Prime Minister, Sato decided not to run for a fourth term. His heir apparent, Takeo Fukuda, won the Sato faction’s support in the subsequent Diet elections, but the more popular MITI Minister, Kakuei Tanaka, won the vote, ending the Sato faction’s dominance.

His efforts on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty won Sato the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.

Takeo Fukuda (1905-1995)

Fukuda became Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1964. Three years later Sato moved him to the post of Finance Minister. His chief rival, Kakuei Tanaka, took back the role of Secretary-General before taking over as head of MITI. The two rivals fought out the contest to succeed Sato in 1971. Fukuda was defeated and he had to wait until the Liberal Democratic Party’s poor showing in the 1976 election before he could claim the leadership of the party. He served as Prime Minister of Japan from 24 December 1976 to 7 December 1978. The Liberal Democratic Party remained in office, but relied on the support of minor parties to maintain a parliamentary majority. Towards the end of 1978 Fukuda was beaten by Masayoshi Ohira for the presidency of the LDP, and resigned as Prime Minister.

Kakuei Tanaka (1918-1993)

Tanaka became a member of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955. He was given his first cabinet post as Minister of Post and Telecommunications in the Nobusuke Kishi government in 1957. He already had considerable influence in the Liberal Democratic Party despite his lack of seniority. In part this was due to his friendship with Eisaku Sato and the fact that his stepdaughter had married Hayato Ikeda’s nephew. This brought Tanaka into close touch with the two key heads of the party.

During Ikeda’s premiership, Tanaka became chairman of the Policy Affairs Research Council, and eventually Minister of Finance. When Sato became Prime Minister, Tanaka seemed to be in pole position to become the new Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party. However, the emergence of the Black Mist Scandal, in which Tanaka was accused of shady land deals in Tokyo, ended his chances. This key job went to Takeo Fukuda instead.

Fukuda and Tanaka soon became the two battling heir apparents of Sato’s faction. Their rivalry was dubbed by the Japanese press as the “Kaku-Fuku War”. Despite the scandal, Tanaka made a record showing in the 1967 general election, and Sato appointed him as Secretary General, moving Fukada to the post of Finance Minister. In 1971, Sato gave Tanaka another important stepping stone in his career: the role of Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

As head of MITI, Tanaka gained further public support by standing up to the US negotiators who wanted Japan to impose export caps on several products. He made many strong contacts within the American diplomatic corps and played a leading role in discussions over the repatriation of Okinawa.

Although Sato favoured Fukuda as his successor, Tanaka’s popularity, along with support from the factions of Yasuhiro Nakasone and Masayoshi Ohira, gave him a 282-190 victory over Fukuda in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election in 1971.

He became Prime Minister in July 1972 with the highest popularity rating of any new Japanese premier in history. He served in this position until December 1974 and continued to be the most influential member of the ruling LDP until the mid-1980s, when he fell from power after a long series of scandals relating to various business practices, his relationship with Aki Sato, and the Lockheed bribes.

Yasuhiro Nakasone (1918- )

He was appointed Minister of Science in 1959 under the government of Nobusuke Kishi, then Minister of Transport in 1967, and more prominent positions as head of the Defense Agency in 1970, and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1972. Later, he went on to serve as Prime Minister from 1982 to 1987.

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