Kichirō Tazawa (田沢 吉郎, Tazawa Kichirō, 1918 – 12 December 2001) was a Japanese politician. He held different cabinet posts and served as defense minister from 1988 to 1989.

Kichirō Tazawa
田澤 吉郎
Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency
In office
24 August 1988 – 3 June 1989
Prime MinisterNoboru Takeshita
Preceded byTsutomu Kawara
Succeeded byTaku Yamasaki
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office
30 November 1981 – 26 November 1982
Prime MinisterZenko Suzuki
Preceded byTakao Kameoka
Succeeded byIwazo Kaneko
Head of the National Land Agency
In office
24 December 1976 – 28 November 1977
Prime MinisterTakeo Fukuda
Preceded byKosei Amano
Succeeded byYoshio Sakurauchi
Personal details
Born(1918-01-01)1 January 1918
Inakadate, Empire of Japan
Died12 December 2001(2001-12-12) (aged 83)
Hirosaki
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materWaseda University

Early life

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Tazawa was born in 1918.[1] He was a native of Inakadate, Aomori Prefecture.[1][2]

Career

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Tazawa was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.[3] He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1960 and served there until 1996 when he lost his seat in the election.[3] From 24 December 1976 to 28 November 1977 he was the director of national land agency.[4]

He was appointed minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on 30 November 1981 in a cabinet reshuffle and succeeded Takeo Kameoka in the post.[5] The cabinet was headed by Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki.[5] Tazawa was in office until 26 November 1982.[5] He was appointed minister of state and director-general of the Japan Defense Agency (today defense minister) on 24 August 1988 to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita.[6] He replaced Tsutomu Kawara in the post who had resigned from office.[7] Tazawa retained his post in the late December 1988 reshuffle.[6] He was in office until 3 June 1989 when Taku Yamasaki was appointed to the post. Tazawa retired from politics and was appointed president of Hirosaki Gakuin University.[3] He served in the post until his death in 2001.[3]

Personal life and death

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Tazawa's wife managed a large farm in Aomori which is one of the significant agricultural and fishing regions in Japan.[2] Tazawa died of esophagus cancer at a hospital in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on 12 December 2001.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "田沢 吉郎". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "US stake in Japanese trade; How Japan's farmers block imports". The Christian Science Monitor. 25 March 1982. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ex-LDP politician Tazawa dies at 83". Japan Policy & Politics. 13 December 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  4. ^ Janet Hunter, ed. (1984). Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-520-04390-9.
  5. ^ a b c "Cabinet". Colombus. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Cabinet shuffled in Japan". Chicago Sun-Times. 28 December 1988. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Japan's Military Chief Quits". Los Angeles Times. 25 August 1988. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Kichiro Tazawa". The Japan Times. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
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House of Representatives (Japan)
Preceded by
Motosaburo Tokai
Chair, Committee on Rules and Administration of the House of Representatives of Japan
1971–1972
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Hideyo Sasaki
Chair, Committee on Rules and Administration of the House of Representatives of Japan
1974–1976
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Kosei Amano
Head of the National Land Agency
1976–1977
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Takao Kameoka
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
1981–1982
Succeeded by
Iwazo Kaneko
Preceded by Head of the Japan Defense Agency
1988–1989
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair, Diet Affairs Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
1980–1981
Succeeded by