Kenzō Kōno (, ''Kōno Kenzō'', May 14, 1901 – October 16, 1983) was a Japanese politician who served as President of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

(1971–1977) and President of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (1965–1975).

Biography

Kōno was born on May 14, 1901. Belonging to a political dynasty, he was the younger brother of his predecessor,

Ichirō Kōno was a Japanese politician during the Post-war, postwar period who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the National Diet. As Deputy Prime Minister, he was in charge of the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964 To ...

and the uncle of Yōhei Kōno (Ichiro's son); Tarō Kōno is his great-nephew. He graduated from the

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

. In his youth he was a

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

and won stages of the

Hakone Ekiden , officially called the , is one of the most prominent university ''ekiden'' (relay marathon) races of the year held between Tokyo and Hakone in Japan on January 2 and 3. The race is telecast on Nippon Television. This two-day race from Ōtemac ...

in 1921 and 1922. In his political career, he was the president of the

from 17 July 1971 to 3 July 1977, was elected five times as a member of the House of Councillors for Kanagawa Prefecture between 1953 and 1983, and was a Member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa's third district from 24 January 1949 to 28 August 1952.

References

Chronicle of Japan Association of Athletics FederationsThe Foreign Policy of Modern Japan By Robert A. Scalapino
, - , - , - , - , - 1901 births 1983 deaths Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers People from Odawara Waseda University alumni Japanese male long-distance runners Japanese sports executives and administrators Athletics (track and field) officials Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Presidents of the House of Councillors (Japan) 20th-century Japanese sportsmen {{Japan-sport-bio-stub