Masaharu Gotōda (後藤田正晴, ''Gotoda Masaharu'', 9 August 1914 – 19 September 2005) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the diet,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

, and

Chief Cabinet Secretary The is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The Chief Cabinet Secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, and also serves as the government ...

. A native of

Yoshinogawa 290px, Tokushima Prefectural Road Route 244 in Yoshinogawa 290px, Fujii-dera wisteria is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,150 in 17958 households and a population density of 270 persons ...

Tokushima is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

and graduate of

Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. Gotōda served as Commissioner General of the National Police Agency from 1969 to 1972,

, Director of General Affairs Agency from 1982 to 1987 (under Prime Minister

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1982 to 1987. He was a member of the House of Representatives for more than 50 years. He was best known for pushing through the ...

), and he was Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Justice from 1992 to 1993 (under Prime Minister

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years. Early life and education Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama ...

). As a politician, Gotōda was called the "Japanese Andropov". Gotōda retired in 1996, when he was 82 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotoda, Masaharu 1914 births 2005 deaths Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Deputy Prime Ministers of Japan Ministers of Justice of Japan People from Tokushima Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni