Sonoda Sunao

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Sonoda Sunao (1979)

Sonoda Sunao ( Japanese 園田 直 ; born December 11, 1913 in Kumamoto Prefecture ; † April 2, 1984 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (Jiyūminshutō) , who was Foreign Minister from 1977 to 1979 and again in 1981 . As such, through the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and the People's Republic of China on August 12, 1978, he contributed significantly to normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Because of his numerous trips abroad, he was called the "flying foreign minister".

Life

Second World War, MP and resignation from the LDP

As Deputy Foreign Minister Sonoda to the mid-1950s for the relaxation of diplomatic relations between Japan and the continued Soviet Union a

Sonoda Sunao attended Amakusa High School in Kumamoto Prefecture and then began studying dentistry at Osaka Dental University . In 1935 he joined the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army as an officer candidate and was promoted to lieutenant in 1937 . After serving in the staff department , he was promoted to first lieutenant in 1940 and captain in 1943 during the Second World War . He then switched to the paratrooper troops and took part in combat missions in the Mariana Islands as a commando in the Pacific War. At the end of the war he led a Shimpū Tokkōtai attack on a Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" base in the United States in Saipan , which he barely survived. The war experiences of the last months of the war contributed to his becoming a pacifist .

After the end of the war, Sonoda was elected mayor of Kawaura and a year later as a candidate for the conservative Democratic Party (Minshutō) by Ashida Hitoshi in the election of April 25, 1947, he was elected for the first time as a member of the House of Commons ( Shūgiin ) , in which he was Kumamoto Prefecture represented. After the merger ( Hoshu Gōdō ) of the Democratic Party of Japan (Nihon Minshutō) with the Liberal Party (Jiyū-tō) on November 15, 1955, he became a member of the newly formed Liberal Democratic Party (Jiyūminshutō) In March 1955 he was in the cabinet of Hatoyama Ichirō II Parliamentary Deputy Foreign Minister and as such contributed significantly to the relaxation of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union . He also served as Chairman of the Labor and Social Committee of the House of Commons between 1958 and 1959. He resigned from the LDP to protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States , which was signed on January 19, 1960 .

Re-entry into the LDP, Vice-Speaker of the House of Commons and Minister

After Sonoda Sunao rejoined the LDP, he first served as chairman of the LDP Political Committee in the lower house between 1963 and 1964 and later from December 20, 1965 to December 27, 1966, and again between February 15 and November 25 1967 as Vice-Speaker of the House of Commons. On November 25, 1967, he was then as part of a first reshuffle of the second Satō cabinet as the successor to Bō Hideo Minister of Health and Welfare and remained in this office until November 30, 1968, whereupon Saitō Noboru succeeded him. He then held the position of chairman of the LDP Political Committee in the lower house between 1968 and 1970.

Within the LDP Sonoda was an opponent of by Yasuhiro Nakasone led Seisaku Kagaku Kenkyujo - faction and formed instead with the Shūnjūkai own faction. After he made an emphatic contribution in this capacity to Fukuda Takeo becoming the successor of Miki Takeo on December 23, 1976 in consultation with unopposed candidates as the new LDP chairman and on December 24, 1976 also the new Prime Minister of Japan , he became the new Prime Minister of Japan on November 24 In 1976 he was appointed chief cabinet secretary (Naikaku Kambō Chōkan) and thus head of the cabinet secretariat (Naikaku kambō) in his cabinet .

Foreign Minister and Peace Treaty with the People's Republic of China

With Deng Xiaoping Sonoda SÚRAO signed on August 12, 1978. Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China

As part of a cabinet reshuffle , he took over the post of Foreign Minister (Gaimu Daijin) on November 28, 1977 . He was of the opinion that the Self-Defense Forces (Jieitai) should only be lightly armed and also sought rapprochement with the People's Republic of China . As such, through the conclusion of a peace treaty between Japan and the People's Republic of China that he negotiated with Deng Xiaoping on August 12, 1978, he contributed significantly to normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

During this time Sonoda Sunao joined the Kōchikai led by Ōhira Masayoshi , the oldest and largest faction within the LDP. After this successor to Takeo Fukuda as LDP chairman and prime minister, he held the post of foreign minister in the first cabinet from December 7, 1978 to November 9, 1979 . Because of his numerous trips abroad he was called the "flying foreign minister" and during this time in July 1979 he paid a visit to the five African states of Tanzania , Nigeria , Kenya , Ivory Coast and Senegal . On July 17, 1980 he was again Minister of Health and Social Affairs in the Suzuki cabinet . After Itō Masayoshi had surprisingly resigned on May 18, 1981, Prime Minister Suzuki Zenkō reappointed him as Foreign Minister and Murayama Tatsuo as his own successor as Health and Welfare Minister. Unlike his two predecessors, Ōkita Saburō and Itō Masayoshi, he advocated a foreign policy aimed in all directions and, among other things, had entry visas issued for Soviet trade and business delegations. This, as well as his critical remarks and remarks on Japanese-US-American and Japanese-South Korean relations ultimately contributed to his being replaced as Foreign Minister by Sakurauchi Yoshio on November 30, 1981, as part of a reshuffle in the Suzuki cabinet .

Sonoda died on April 2, 1984 as a result of kidney failure in the hospital of the elite Keio University in Tokyo. From his marriage to Sonoda Tenkōkō , one of the first female members of the House of Commons, the politician Sonoda Hiroyuki emerged, who is also a member of the House of Commons and was temporarily deputy chief cabinet secretary.

Background literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Japan: Key Ministries
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Sonoda is the family name, Surao the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Sonoda, Sunao
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 園田 直 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Kumamoto Prefecture
DATE OF DEATH April 2, 1984
Place of death Tokyo