Yoshirō Mori

Yoshirō Mori (2019)

Yoshirō Mori ( Japanese 森 喜 朗 , Mori Yoshirō ; born July 14, 1937 in Neagari (today: Nomi )) is a Japanese politician and was a member of the Shūgiin , the lower house of the national parliament , for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 1969 to 2012 . From April 5, 2000 to April 26, 2001, he served as the 55th Prime Minister of Japan and is currently President of the Committee for the 2020 Summer Olympics .

Life

Early political life

Mori was born in Ishikawa Prefecture to Mori Shigeki and Kaoru, wealthy rice farmers with a political background. Father and grandfather were mayors of Neagari, a city in the prefecture. His mother died when he was seven years old.

He studied at Waseda University in Tokyo , where he joined the rugby club. He then worked for the conservative newspaper Sankei Shimbun . In 1962 he left the newspaper and became secretary to an MP. In 1969, now 32 years old, he was elected to the Japanese House of Commons and then re-elected ten times in a row.

In 1980, Mori was embroiled in the Recruit scandal because he received unregistered shares in Recruit Cosmos before they went on sale and sold them immediately after trading began, making about $ 1 million in profit.

In 1983 and 1984 he was Minister of Education, Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry in 1992 and 1993, and Minister of Construction in 1995 and 1996.

From 1998 to 2006, with the exception of his time as Prime Minister 2000 to 2001, he was the chairman of the LDP faction Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai .

prime minister

Mori in the Oval Office with George W. Bush in March 2001

Mori's predecessor, Keizo Obuchi , suffered a stroke on April 2, 2000 and was unable to continue his service. Therefore Mori, then general secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), became LDP chairman and prime minister.

He was often described as having "the heart of a flea and the brain of a shark" and was an unpopular prime minister, remembered mainly for his many faux pas and inappropriate actions.

• One of the earliest occurred at Obuchi's funeral when Mori failed to clap her hands and properly bow before the shrine of the dead, which is an important part of the Buddhist burial ritual. All other foreign politicians performed the ritual correctly.
• At a meeting of leading Shinto clergy in Tokyo, Mori described Japan as "a nation of gods with the emperor at their center." This "Divine Nation Statement" caused a great deal of controversy in Japan, led to the dissolution of parliament and heavy losses for the LDP in the 2000 Shūgiin election .
• Mori's biggest PR disaster was to quietly end a round of golf after receiving news that the U.S. submarine USS Greeneville (SSN-772) struck the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru during an emergency drill on February 9, 2001 and sunk, killing nine students and teachers.

In July 2000, Mori hosted the G8 summit in Okinawa .

Mori was not particularly popular at any time in his government, and by the end of his time his approval rating dropped to single digits. The people of his home prefecture Ishikawa scolded him "The Shame of Ishikawa" ( 石川 の 恥 , Ishikawa no haji ), partly because - although Prime Minister - he could not push through the planned expansion of the Shinkansen to Ishikawa.

He was replaced on April 26, 2001 by Koizumi Junichirō .

After the time as prime minister

Putin and Mori in the Kremlin in July 2017

Mori remained a member of the House of Representatives for Ishikawa Second Constituency until 2012. He is married to Chieko (née Maki), a friend from his time at Waseda University, and has a son, Yūki Mori, and a daughter, Yoko Fujimoto. In 2004 he received the Padma Bhushan , India's third highest civilian award.

Due to his personal closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin , Mori was repeatedly considered as a mediator in the Kuril conflict . B. 2012 by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda . In addition, Mori prepared a meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe with Putin during a visit to Moscow in 2013 .

Mori had played rugby at Waseda University and developed a passion for it, although he was never a high-class player. In June 2005 he became President of the Japan Rugby Football Union in the hopes that this would secure the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup for Japan. However, New Zealand was selected as the venue for this event in late November 2005 . In 2015 he resigned as President of the Japan Rugby Football Union.

In 2014 he was appointed chairman of the “Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games” ( 東京 オ リ ン ピ ッ ク ・ パ ラ リ ン ピ ッ ク 競技 大会 組織 委員会 , Tōkyō Orinpikku Pararinpikku Kyōgita Parikai Soshiki Iinkai Organizing Committee of the Tokyo Games.

Cabinets

Mori appointed two cabinets: first when he took office on April 5, 2000 ( Mori I cabinet ) and after the general election on July 4, 2000 ( Mori II cabinet ). On December 5, Mori carried out a cabinet reshuffle ( Cabinet Mori II (reshuffle) ) in preparation for the January 6, 2001, central government restructuring that eliminated several cabinet positions and renamed several ministries .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Profile: Yoshiro Mori BBC News , (November 20, 2000, 8:34 am GMT )
2. ↑ 噂 の 眞 相 特別 取材 班 ｢『 サ メ の 脳 ミ ソ 』と『 ノ ミ の 心 臓 』を 持 つ 森喜朗" 総 理 失 格 "の 人間 性 の 証明」 (『噂 の 眞 相 月』 年 p. 6, 相 月』 2000 年 p. 24–31)
3. ↑ japandailypress.com - Noda considers asking former PM Mori to help with Russian dispute ( Memento from July 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ japandailypress.com - Ex-PM Mori meets with Putin to lay foundation for Abe's visit to Russia ( Memento from September 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Yoshirō Mori  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official Website (Japanese)