Shōichi Fujimori () (December 26, 1926 – June 25, 2016) was Grand Steward of the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

(1988–1996). He was born in Matsumoto,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

Biography

Shōichi Fujimori was born on 26 December 1926, to a farmer's family on the outskirts of Matsumoto in

. Born the first day after the Emperor Shōwa acceded to the throne, his name Shōichi combined the first character of Showa (昭) with the character for one (一). Fujimori attended Matsumoto Higher School and was mobilised to work as a munitions factory during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. He studied law at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

and joined the Ministry of Health and Welfare when he graduated in 1950. At the time when the Isewan Typhoon struck

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

, Fujimori was deeply involved in the disaster response, serving on secondment as chief of the Health and Welfare division in the Mie Prefectural Government. He was seconded to the Cabinet Secretariat as Chief Cabinet Counsellor (首席内閣参事官, ''Shuseki Naikaku Sanjikan'') in July 1973. When Prime Minister

Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976. A native of Tokushima Prefecture, Miki was educated at Meiji University and the University of Southern California. He was first elected ...

was attacked during the funeral of

Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972. He is the third longest-serving Japanese prime minister, and is ranked second by longest uninterrupted service. Satō is best remembered for securing the return ...

, Fujimori tackled and subdued the assailant. Fujimori was later transferred to the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

in July 1979, and successively served as chief of the Nature Conservation Bureau and chief of the Planning and Coordination Bureau, before being appointed administrative vice minister of the Environment in July 1981. Fujimori left the post when he was appointed Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for administrative affairs under the Nakasone Cabinet in November 1982. He served for almost five years until Prime Minister Nakasone stepped down in November 1987. Fujimori first entered the

as Vice Grand Steward in April 1988. He was promoted to Grand Steward two months later. Fujimori announced the death of Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

on January 7, 1989, at 7:55 AM. He oversaw the Emperor's funeral and the ascension of Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

as Grand Steward. He continued to serve until 1996. After retiring he served as President of the Japanese Red Cross Society until 2005, and was honorary president afterwards. Shōichi Fujimori died of

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

on 25 June 2016.

Honour

* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.2003天馬会
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Foreign honour

* : Honorary Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(P.S.M.) (1991)

References

Bibliography

* 荻上悦子著「春寂寥旧制松本高等学校人物誌」 2008年 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujimori, Shoichi 1926 births 2016 deaths People from Nagano Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Japanese government officials Japanese civil servants Red Cross personnel Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Honorary commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia