was a Japanese politician who served in the

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

and as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He was a member of the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and headed one of its most powerful factions in the 1980s.

Early life

Nikaidō was born in Kagoshima Prefecture. He moved to the United States in 1932, and graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

with a degree in political science. He remained in the United States until August 1941, when he returned to Japan on the '' Tatsuta Maru''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and as a non-combatant in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

Political career

Nikaidō unsuccessfully ran as an opposition candidate for the

in the 1942 general election. Following the war, he was involved in the formation of the Japan Cooperative Party (1945) and

National Cooperative Party The was a centrist political party in Japan. History The party was established on 8 March 1947 as a merger of the Cooperative Democratic Party and the National Party following seven months of talks.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of ...

(1947). He won his first elected seat in the House of Representatives in the country's first postwar general election in 1946, lost his bid for re-election in the 1947 general election, and returned to the House in the 1949 general election. During this time, he became acquainted with future political allies

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...

and

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 ...

. Nikaidō lost his seat again in the 1952 general election, but returned to the House again in the 1955 general election and thereafter held his seat until retiring in 1996, winning 16 consecutive elections. Nikaidō was a supporter 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 ...

's Diet faction starting in 1957, and served in the Sato cabinet as Director of the Science and Technology Agency and Director of the Hokkaido Development Agency from 1966 to 1967. He later became a key supporter of

, and served as Tanaka's Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1972 to 1974. Nikaidō served as LDP Secretary-General from 1981 to 1983, during which time Tanaka was convicted of bribery for his role in the

Lockheed bribery scandals The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused considerable pol ...

(in which Nikaidō himself was not implicated). In 1984, former Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki backed Nikaidō, who was then 75, in an ill-fated party leadership struggle against Prime Minister

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987. His political term was best known for pushing through the privatization of state-owned companies and pursuing a hawkish and pro-U.S. fo ...

. Nikaidō thereafter served as LDP Vice-president from 1984 to 1986. During this time, Tanaka was hospitalized following a stroke, and Nikaidō served as titular chairman of the Tanaka faction, but was challenged by

Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989. Born in Shimane Prefecture, Takeshita attended Waseda University and was drafted into the army during the Pacific War. He was first elected to the National Diet ...

. Nikaidō died of heart failure in February 2000 at the age of 90.

Amami reversion movement

As a lawmaker representing Kagoshima Prefecture, Nikaidō played some role in the reversion movement of the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is a Japanese archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is sout ...

, which were part of Kagoshima Prefecture but were administratively separated from Japan by the U.S. military from 1946 to 1953. In July 1950, on his way back from a visitation to Okinawa, Nikaidō visited

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands, all of which belong to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 712.35 ...

and gave a speech at a mass rally calling for Amami's return to Japan. On August 18, he asked an "emergency question" on Amami's reversion to Japan at a Lower House plenary session. The question was a political compromise between the Diet and the Amami Islanders since the Diet was unable to pass a resolution on Amami's reversion that would conflict with a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

the Diet was soon to ratify. Nevertheless, it was the first manifestation of long-standing efforts to single out Amami from the other areas under U.S. military occupation (i.e., Okinawa and Ogasawara) at the Diet to facilitate an earlier return of Amami.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikaido, Susumu 1909 births 2000 deaths Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians University of Southern California alumni Government ministers of Japan People from Kagoshima Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II