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is a Japanese politician who served as
Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
and
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in Japanese history, having previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007 and as
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The minister is also a statutory member of the National Security Council (Japan), National Security Council, and ...
from 2003 to 2005. He leads the Shikōkai faction within the LDP. Asō was first elected to 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 ...
in 1979. He served in numerous ministerial roles before becoming
Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party The is a high-ranking position within the Japanese conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party. According to the LDP constitution, the secretary-general assists the President of the Liberal Democratic Part ...
(LDP) in 2008, having also held that role temporarily in 2007."Official English Translations for LDP Officials and Party Organs"
Liberal Democratic Party.
He was later elected LDP President in September 2008, becoming prime minister the same month. He led the LDP to the worst election result in its history a year later, marking only the second time in post-war Japan that a governing party had lost re-election, and resigned as the President of the party immediately afterwards. After the LDP returned to government following the 2012 election under
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
, Asō was appointed to the Cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, retaining those roles when Yoshihide Suga replaced Abe in 2020.'' Daily Yomiuri'
28 December 2012
/ref> After leaving cabinet, he's served as vice president of the LDP under Fumio Kishida and as senior advisor to the LDP under
Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...
. He is a noted power broker inside the party, leading the Shikōkai. Asō has been attached to a number of controversies in his career. He conceded in 2008 that his family had benefitted from forced labor during World War II, although he has refused to apologize for it. Asō also had a reputation for political gaffes and controversial remarks.


Family and early life

Taro Asō was born in Iizuka in
Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
on 20 September 1940, as the eldest son of Takakichi Asō and his wife Kazuko. The Asō family was one of the leading business families in
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
, going back to Asō's great grandfather Takichi Asō, who established himself as a coal mining magnate in the
Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
. Takakichi Asō had taken over the family company after Takichi as a young man in the 1930s. Kazuko was the daughter of the diplomat
Shigeru Yoshida was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954, serving through most of the country's occupation after World War II. Yoshida played a major role in determining the cour ...
, who after the war served as Prime Minister from 1946 to 1947 and 1948 to 1954. He is also by marriage related to Sato Eisaku, who served as prime minister from 1964 to 1974. Through his maternal grandmother, Aso is also a descendant of the Meiji statesman Toshimichi Okubo, considered one of the founders of modern Japan. Asō initially attended an elementary school affiliated with the Aso Group, but in his third year of elementary school he transferred to Gakushuin in Tokyo, the traditional school for children of the aristocracy. He graduated from
Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo. The Gakushūin (or "Peers School") was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility, but back then the institution had only the primary and secondary ...
in 1963. He took the employment examination for the
Sankei Shimbun The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei ...
, but decided to continue his studied overseas instead. Asō attended
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in California, but later dropped out. By his own account, his anglophile grandfather Shigeru Yoshida, who had come to see him in connection to attending the funeral of General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
, was displeased with him acquiring a "lousy Californian accent," leading to him being ordered by his family to study in Britain instead. He consequently transferred to the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
.japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/meibo/daijin/1208723_10042.html


Business career

After he returned to Japan from his studies abroad, he entered the Aso Industry Company in 1966. Working for the company, he lived in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
during the 1960s and became fluent in Portuguese. For two years from 1970, Asō worked in the diamond mining industry in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
as a local representative of the Asō family at a new mining area offered by a local authority after the nationalization of the diamond industry in the country. He was forced to return to Japan at the outbreak of
civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of things may cause civil di ...
in the country. Asō served as president of the Aso Mining Company from 1973 to 1979. He was also a member of the Japanese
shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...
team at the
1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and President of the Japan
Junior Chamber Junior Chamber International, commonly referred to as JCI, is a non-profit international non-governmental organization of young people between and years old. It has members in about 127 countries, and regional or national organizations in mo ...
in 1978.


Political career


Early political career

Asō was first elected to the House of Representative in the 1979 election, as a LDP candidate in Fukuoka 3rd district. He handed over leadership of the family business to his brother Yutaka upon taking office. Asō joined the Kochikai, a political faction deriving from the legacy of his grandfather Shigeru Yoshida. When he was a junior Diet member, Asō met Chikako, the daughter of Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki, at a dinner party hosted by Suzuki. Asō and Chikako Suzuki were married in December 1983.


Cabinet Minister

Asō received his first cabinet position as Minister of State and Director General of the Economic Planning Agency under Prime Minister
Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Hashimoto graduated from Keio University in 1960 and entered the National Diet in 1963. He rose through the ...
in November 1996 and served until September 1997. Although Asō was a member of the Kochikai, he was on bad terms with Koichi Kato, who was considered the "prince of the Kochikai" at the time. He participated in a factional defection led by Yohei Kono after Kato succeeded Kiichi Miyazawa as head of the Kochikai in 1998. He joined the Cabinet of
Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
in 2003 as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. On 31 October 2005, he became Minister for Foreign Affairs. There has been some speculation that his position in the Cabinet was due to his membership in the Kōno Group, an LDP caucus led by pro-Chinese lawmaker Yōhei Kōno: by appointing Asō as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Koizumi may have been attempting to "rein in" Kōno's statements critical of Japanese foreign policy.


Candidate for the LDP Leadership

Asō was one of the final candidates to replace Koizumi as prime minister in 2006, but lost the internal party election to
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
by a wide margin. Both Abe and Asō are conservative on foreign policy issues and have taken confrontational stances towards some
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
n nations, particularly
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
and, to a lesser extent, the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Abe was considered a more "moderate" politician than the more "hard-line" Asō, and led Asō in opinion polling within Japan. Asō's views on multilateralism are suggested in a 2006 speech, "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity: Japan's Expanding Diplomatic Horizons". Asō acknowledged that he would most likely lose to Fukuda, but said that he wanted to run so that there would be an open election, saying that otherwise LDP would face criticism for making its choice "through back-room deals". In the President election, held on 23 September, Fukuda defeated Asō, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Asō. On 1 August 2008, Fukuda appointed Asō as Secretary-General of LDP, a move that solidified Asō's position as the number two-man in the party.


Prime Minister of Japan

Unexpectedly on 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation as prime minister. Five LDP members including Asō ran for new party President to succeed Fukuda. On 21 September, one day before votes of Diet party members, Asō reportedly told a crowd of supporters outside Tokyo: "The greatest concern right now is the economy." "America is facing a financial crisis ... we must not allow that to bring us down as well."Joseph Coleman
"Japan ruling party turns to brash Aso"
The Associated Press, 22 September 2008.
Finally on 22 September, Asō did win. He was elected as President of LDP with 351 of 525 votes (217 from 384 Diet party members, 134 from 47 prefecture branches);
Kaoru Yosano (August 22, 1938 – May 23, 2017) was a Japanese politician. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Sunrise Party of Japan and former member of the House of Representatives, serving his ninth term in the Lower House represe ...
,
Yuriko Koike Yuriko Koike (小池 百合子, Koike Yuriko; born 15 July 1952) is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she was also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member o ...
,
Nobuteru Ishihara is a Japanese politician, who served as the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2010 to 2012. Previously, he also served in the House of Representatives as representative from 1990 to 2021. Early life and career Ishihara was ...
,
Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...
got 66, 46, 37, 25 votes respectively."Conservative Aso chosen as Japan PM"
, AFP, 22 September 2008.
Two days later on 24 September, Asō was designated by the Diet as prime minister, and was formally appointed to the office by the Emperor on that night. In the House of Representatives (lower house), he garnered 337 out of 478 votes cast; in 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 ...
(upper house), Ichirō Ozawa, President of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, was named through two times of ballots."LDP President Aso elected prime minister"
''The Mainichi Daily News'', The Mainichi Newspapers, 24 September 2008.
5TH LD: Aso elected Japan's prime minister, to form Cabinet
Kyodo News International (24 September 2008).
Because no agreement was reached at a joint committee of both Houses, the resolution of the House of Representatives became the resolution of the Diet, as is stipulated in the Constitution. Asō reportedly said, "If you look at the current period, it's not a stable one." and "These are turbulent times with the financial situation and everything else." Later on the same day as his election as prime minister, Asō personally announced his new Cabinet (this is normally done by the Chief Cabinet Secretary). His Cabinet was markedly different from the preceding Cabinet under Fukuda. Five of its members had never previously served in the Cabinet, and one of them, 34-year-old Yūko Obuchi, was the youngest member of the Cabinet in the post-war era. Prime Minister Asō flew to Washington to meet with
United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in February 2009. He was the first foreign leader to visit the Obama White House; however, reports suggested that the new administration was interested less in giving Asō a political boost than in sending a message that Japan continues to be an important ally and partner – a low-risk, high-payoff gesture for both Asō and Obama. After his election as prime minister Asō was expected to dissolve the lower house to clear the way for a general election. But he repeatedly stressed the need for a functioning government to face the economic crisis and ruled out an early election. Only after passage of the extra budget for fiscal 2009 in May and facing internal pressure from the LDP after a series of defeats in regional elections – most notably the Tokyo prefectural election on 12 July – he decided to announce a general election for 30 August 2009. He dissolved the House of Representatives on 21 July 2009. The LDP lost by a landslide to the
Democratic Party of Japan The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...
, in the face of record levels of post-war unemployment. Accepting responsibility for the worst (and second-only) defeat of a sitting government in modern Japanese history, Asō immediately resigned as LDP president.


Post-premiership

When Shinzo Abe returned to the Prime Minister's office in December 2012, Aso is appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He is the first former Japanese Prime Minister to subsequently serve as Deputy Prime Minister. Following Shinzo Abe's second resignation as prime minister in August 2020 due to a resurgence of ulcerative colitis, many speculated Aso would launch a leadership bid. He took many people aback when he announced that he would not seek the post. Aso maintained his position as Deputy Prime Minister under Abe's successor Yoshihide Suga, until Suga himself resigned in September 2021 and was succeeded by Fumio Kishida. Aso became the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party under the new LDP leader and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. After Fumio Kishida was appointed prime minister in October 2021, Asō was moved to the role of Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party. Asō backed Taro Kono in the first round of the 2024 LDP presidential election, and then backed Sanae Takaichi, who ultimately lost to
Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...
. He was considered to be visibly unhappy as Ishiba was announced the winner. He was replaced as
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
by Yoshihide Suga, instead becoming Senior Advisor to the party.


Controversial statements

In 2001, as Minister of Finance, he was quoted as saying he wanted to make Japan a country where " rich Jews" would like to live. On 15 October 2005, during the opening ceremony of the Kyushu National Museum which also displays how other Asian cultures have influenced Japanese cultural heritage, he praised Japan for having "one culture, one civilization, one language, and one ethnic group", and stated that it was the only such country in the world. This statement sparked controversy for what critics described as invoking Japan's imperialist and racist past. At a lecture in
Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...
, Asō referred to a Japanese peace initiative on the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, stating, "The Japanese were trusted because they had never been involved in exploitation there, or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Japan is doing what the Americans can't do. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair. Luckily, we Japanese have yellow faces." ''
Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million ...
'' reported that he had said on 4 February 2006, "our predecessors did a good thing" regarding
compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at home or other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory sc ...
implemented during Japan's colonization of
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. On 21 December 2005, he said China was "a neighbour with one billion people equipped with nuclear bombs and has expanded its military outlays by double digits for 17 years in a row, and it is unclear as to what this is being used for. It is beginning to be a considerable threat". On 28 January 2006, he called for the emperor to visit the controversial
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...
. He later backtracked on the comment, but stated that he hoped such a visit would be possible in the future. ''
Mainichi Daily News The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a biling ...
'' reported that on 9 March 2006 he referred to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
as a "law-abiding country", which drew strong protest from
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, which considers the island a part of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. On 23 September 2008, '' Akahata'', the daily newspaper published by the
Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...
, released a compiled list of these and other statements as the front-page article criticizing Asō."新総裁 麻生氏 発言録"
''しんぶん赤旗'', Japanese Communist Party, 13 September 2008.
This compilation as well as similar lists of blunders have been frequently cited in the Japanese media. ''
Yahoo! News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...
'' reported that he had said on 9 January 2009, "To work is good. It's completely different thinking from the Old Testament." While speaking at a meeting of the National Council on Social Security Reform, in 2013, Asō referred to patients with serious illness as "tube persons" and remarked that they should be "allowed to die quickly" if they desired it. "Heaven forbid I should be kept alive if I want to die", he is quoted as saying. "You cannot sleep well when you think it's all paid by the government. This won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die." In 2014, while campaigning in
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
for the general election, Asō said that rising social welfare costs were not solely due to an aging population. He said, "There are many people who are creating the image that (the increasing number of) elderly people is bad, but more problematic is people who don't give birth". The comment was labeled as insensitive to those who are not able to have children for biological or economic reasons. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported on 30 August 2017, that he said, "
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, who killed millions of people, was no good even if his motive was right." He later retracted the remarks. On another occasion, he praised how the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
was able to stealthily and quickly change the constitution without alerting the general public. According to ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', Asō "raised eyebrows" in June 2018 when he stated that the large support towards the LDP among voters under 35 in the 2017 general election was due to that demographic being less inclined than older Japanese to read newspapers, which had been critical of Abe's handling of cronyism scandals. In May 2018, Asō downplayed alleged sexual harassment charges against his ministry's top bureaucrat by saying that "there is no such thing as a sexual harassment charge". When asked to comment on a formal complaint submitted to his ministry on the alleged sexual harassment, Asō remarked that his "only thought was that it would have been easier to read if they used a bigger font". In October 2021, during Asō's speech for an LDP candidate in
Otaru is a Cities of Japan, city and Seaports of Japan, port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical ...
said that
Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
rice "has become tastier thanks to (global) warming," also adding that the rice "used to be unsalable" but now tastier and even exported "because of higher temperatures". Additionally he made the statement that people often associate global warming and the warmer temperature it brings with it as a negative but that there can be "something good" that can come out of it. In January 2024, Aso referred to foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa as an "obasan" (roughly translated as old lady) and "not particularly beautiful" while remarking on her tenure during a speech in
Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
. Following widespread uproar and a rebuke by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Aso withdrew his remarks.


Aso Mining forced labor controversy

In mid-2008 Asō conceded that his family's coal mine, Aso Mining Company, was alleged to have forced Allied
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
to work in the mines in 1945 without pay. Western media reported that 300 prisoners, including 197 Australians, 101
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, and two Dutch, worked in the mine. Two of the Australians, John Watson and Leslie Edgar George Wilkie, died while working in the Aso mine. In addition, 10,000 Korean conscripts worked in the mine between 1939 and 1945 under severe, brutal conditions in which many of them died or were injured while receiving little pay. The company, now known as the Aso Group, is run by Asō's younger brother. Asō's wife serves on its
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
. Asō headed the company in the 1970s before going into politics. Acting on a request from Yukihisa Fujita, the Foreign Ministry investigated and announced on 18 December 2008 that Aso Mining had, in fact, used 300 Allied POWs at its mine during World War II. The ministry confirmed that two Australians had died while working at the mine, but declined to release their names or causes of deaths for "privacy reasons". Said Fujita, "Prisoner policy is important in many ways for diplomacy, and it is a major problem that the issue has been neglected for so long." Asō has not responded to requests from former laborers to apologize for the way they were treated by his family's company.


Reading mistakes

The Japanese media noted in November 2008 that Asō often mispronounced or incorrectly read
kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
words written in his speeches, even though many of the words are commonly used in Japanese. Asō spoke of the speaking errors to reporters on 12 November 2008 saying, "Those were just reading errors, just mistakes." Asō's tendency for malapropisms has led comparisons to
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
(see
Bushism Bushisms are unconventional statements, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistic errors made in the public speaking of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States. Common characteristics of Bushisms include ...
), and the use of his name, "Tarō" as a schoolyard taunt for unintelligent children. An anatomy professor from 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 ...
, Takeshi Yoro, speculated that Asō could possibly have
dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...
.


Nonaka incident

In 2001, Asō, along with Hiromu Nonaka, was among the LDP's chief candidates to succeed Yoshirō Mori as prime minister of Japan. During a meeting of LDP leaders at which Nonaka was not present, Asō reportedly told the assembled group, "We are not going to let someone from the buraku become the prime minister, are we?" Asō's remark was apparently a reference to Nonaka's
burakumin The are a social grouping of Japanese people descended from members of the feudal class associated with , mainly those with occupations related to death such as executioners, gravediggers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, and tanners. Bura ...
, a social
minority group The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
in Japan, heritage.Yamaguchi, Mari,
Discrimination claims die hard in Japan
, ''
Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', 25 January 2009, p. 2.
Nonaka subsequently withdrew as a candidate. Asō eventually lost the appointment to Jun'ichirō Koizumi. Asō's comment about Nonaka's heritage was revealed in 2005. Asō denied that he had made the statement, but Hisaoki Kamei, who was present at the 2001 meeting, stated in January 2009 that he had heard Asō say something, "to that effect". Nonaka said that he would "never forgive" Asō for the comment and went on to state that Asō was a "misery" to Japan.


Personal life

Asō is married to Chikako Suzuki, who currently serves as the director of the Asō Group and is the daughter of former
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Zenkō Suzuki. The couple were married in 1983 and have two children, Masahiro and Ayako. Masahiro served as the Niwango, the company behind the video-sharing service website
Niconico , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese sound symbolism, Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, accordi ...
in 2005 before being absorbed by Dwango in 2015. Asō is also the elder brother of Nobuko, Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and serves as the uncle of Princess Akiko of Mikasa and
Princess Yōko of Mikasa Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...
.


Fondness for fine dining

In October 2008, the Japanese media reported that Asō dined out or drank in restaurants and bars in luxury hotels almost nightly. When asked about it, Asō stated, "I won't change my style. Luckily I have my money and can afford it." Asō added that if he went anywhere else, he would have to be accompanied by security guards which would cause trouble. According to the ''
Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
'', Asō dined out or drank at bars 32 times in September 2008, mainly at exclusive hotels. Asō's predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda, dined out only seven times in his first month in office. Both of the LDP's opposition parties have called Asō's frequent outings inappropriate. Asō's
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary The is an official in the Japanese government who assists the Chief Cabinet Secretary. Since July 1998 there have always been three Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries at any given time. Role The Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries are customarily ...
,
Jun Matsumoto is a Japanese singer, actor, radio host, and model. He is a member of the boy band Arashi, and is Arashi's concert producer as well as production advisor for other groups. He is best known to Japanese television drama audiences for his portraya ...
, commented on the issue by saying that Asō's frequent trips to restaurants "is his lifestyle and philosophy, and I am not in a position to express my opinion. If only there were more appropriate places when considering security issues and not causing trouble for other customers."


Net worth

According to ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' in 2022, Tarō Asō is the wealthiest member of Japan's
National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
. While Taro Aso's exact net worth is unknown it is estimated that his net worth is 5 billion US dollars. This would make him not just one of the wealthiest politicians in Japan but one of the wealthiest politicians in the world. 80% of his estimated wealth is inherited while 20% of his estimated wealth has been earned by him.


Manga

Asō argues that embracing Japanese pop culture can be an important step to cultivating ties with other countries, hoping that manga will act as a bridge to the world. Asō has been a fan of
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
since childhood. He had his family send manga magazines from Japan while he was studying at Stanford University. In 2003, he described reading about 10 or 20 manga magazines every week (making up only part of Asō's voracious reading) and talked about his impression of various manga extemporaneously. In 2007, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, he established the
International Manga Award file:Taro Aso in World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos (cropped).jpg, Tarō Asō, the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan is an annual award established to encourage non-Japanese Mangaka, manga artists in 2007. This award was created by Ministe ...
for non-Japanese manga artists. It was reported that he was seen reading the manga ''
Rozen Maiden is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Peach-Pit. It was serialized in '' Monthly Comic Birz'' between the September 2002 and July 2007 issues. The individual chapters were collected and released into eight ''tankōbon ...
'' in Tokyo International Airport, which earned him the
sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...
"His Excellency Rozen". He admitted in an interview that he had read the manga; however, he said he did not remember whether he had read it in an airport.; He is a fan of ''
Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is ...
'', a long-running manga about an assassin for hire. Asō's candidacy for the position of Japanese Prime Minister actually caused share-value to rise among some manga publishers and companies related to the manga industry.


Family tree


Ancestry

''Incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia article'' Asō is a patrilineal descendant of the Asō clan and is maternally descended from
Ōkubo Toshimichi Ōkubo Toshimichi (; 26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and samurai of the Satsuma Domain who played a central role in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration (維新の� ...
through his son Count
Makino Nobuaki Count , was a Japanese politician and imperial court official. As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito's chief counselor on the monarch's position in Japanese society and policymaking. After victory in W ...
. Through his paternal grandmother the Hon. Kanō Natsuko, he descends from the Tachibana clan of the Miike Domain and from a cadet branch of the
Ōkubo clan The were a ''samurai'' kin group which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period and the Edo periods.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit."Universität Tübingen (in German) Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōkubo, as heredit ...
, who ruled the
Odawara Domain file:Odawara 2006-02-21 c.jpg, 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawa ...
.


Honours

* Grand Cross with diamonds of the Order of the Sun, ''2008''


Bibliography

* Takashi Hirose ( 広瀬隆); 『私物国家 日本の黒幕の系図』 Tokyo:
Kobunsha is a Japanese publishing company. It publishes literature, manga novels, and women's magazines. Company history Kobunsha was established on October 1, 1945, and belongs to the Kodansha group. The company has published Japanese authors such a ...
(1997) Genealogy14 * *


Election history


References


External links


Official website



Prime Minister Taro Aso's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly
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