was a Japanese politician.

Life

Born in

Imari is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Imari is most notable because of Imari porcelain, which is the European collectors' name for Japanese porcelain wares made in the town of Arita, Saga Prefecture. The porcelain w ...

, and a graduate of Fukuoka Middle School (present-day

Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School is a co-educational public senior high school located in Hakata ward, Fukuoka city, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. It is often called for short. Note, however, that there are several high schools with similar names in Saitama Prefecture in East ...

), he studied law first at

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

and then at

Senshu University is a private university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Campuses *Kanda, Tokyo, Kanda Campus (Main campus): 3-8 Kandajimbo-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-8425 :The Kanda Campus is situated in Jimbocho, a college community in central Tokyo. This urban ca ...

, graduating in 1944. After honing his skills as a politician in the Saga Prefectural Assembly (where he eventually became

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

), he was elected to 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 ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

on a ticket from the Liberal Democratic Party. After that, he won reelection ten times in a row. In

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 ...

's second cabinet, he was named Transport minister. In Nakasone's third cabinet he was to lead the Management and Coordination Agency. In

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as the 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Early life and education Kaifu was born on 2 January 1931, in Nagoya City, the eldest of six brothers. His family's business Nakamura Photo Studio wa ...

's first cabinet he was named

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 ...

, but had to resign after only 16 days due to a sex scandal. In

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 ...

's cabinet he was

Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. Minister Katsunobu K ...

. Between 1988 and 2003 he was chairperson of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Senshu University. He retired from national politics in 2000, but remained an adviser for the Saga branch of the LDP. He died in Imari on 1 January 2014.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamashita, Tokuo Government ministers of Japan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Senshu University alumni People from Saga Prefecture 1919 births 2014 deaths Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians People from Imari, Saga