Eisaku Sato

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eisaku Satō

61st, 62nd and 63rd Prime Minister of Japan
In office November 9, 1964 – July 7, 1972
Preceded by	Hayato Ikeda
Succeeded by	Kakuei Tanaka
Born	March 27, 1901 Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Died	June 3, 1975 Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party

Sato negotiated with U.S. president Richard M. Nixon for the repatriation of Okinawa.

Eisaku Sato (佐藤榮作, Satō Eisaku^?, March 27, 1901 – June 3, 1975) was a Japanese politician and the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Prime Minister of Japan, elected on November 9, 1964, and re-elected on February 17, 1967 and January 14, 1970, serving until July 7, 1972.

[edit] Early Life

He was born in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and studied law at Tokyo Imperial University, becoming a civil servant in the Ministry of Railways. In 1948, he was named vice-minister for transportation.

He entered the Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party, and gradually rose through the ranks of Japanese politics, becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary to Shigeru Yoshida, and in 1952, minister of construction. After the Liberal Party merged with the Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party, Satō became Minister of Finance in the governments of Nobusuke Kishi (his brother) and Hayato Ikeda.

[edit] Prime Minister

Sato succeeded Ikeda after the latter resigned due to ill health. His government was longer than many, and by the late 1960s he appeared to have single-handed control over the entire Japanese government. He was a popular prime minister due to the growing economy; his foreign policy, which was a balancing act between the interests of the United States and China, was more tenuous. In 1969, Satō struck a deal with U.S. president Richard Nixon to repatriate Okinawa and remove its nuclear weaponry: this deal was controversial because it allowed the U.S. forces in Japan to maintain bases in Okinawa after repatriation.

After three terms as prime minister, Sato decided not to run for a fourth. His heir apparent, Takeo Fukuda, won the Sato faction's support in the subsequent Diet elections, but the more popular MITI minister, Kakuei Tanaka, won the vote, ending the Satō faction's dominance.

[edit] Relations with China and Taiwan

Sato repeatedly refused representatives from the People's Republic of China to visit Japan. In 1965, Sato approved a US$150 million loan to Taiwan. He visited Taiwan in 1967. In 1969, Sato persisted that the defense of Taiwan is necessary for the safety of Japan. Sato followed the United States in most major issues, but Sato opposed the Nixon visit to China. Sato also bitterly opposed the entry of the PRC into the United Nations in 1971.

[edit] Nuclear Affairs

Sato introduced the Three Non-Nuclear Principles on December 11, 1967, which means nonproduction, nonpossession, and nonintroduction of nuclear weapons. He later suggested the "Four-Pillars Nuclear Policy". During the prime ministership of Sato, Japan entered the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Diet finally passed a resolution formally adopting the principles in 1971.

[edit] Later Life

Sato shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Seán MacBride in 1974, in recognition of Japan's entry into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and emergence as a peaceful world power. He died in Tokyo the following year.

[edit] Personal

He married Hiroko in 1926 and had two children, Ryutaro and Shinji.

[edit] External links

• Nobel Committee information on 1974 Peace Prize
• Sato, Eisaku EB article [1]

v • d • e	Prime Ministers of Japan
Itō · Kuroda · Yamagata · Matsukata · Itō (2nd) · Matsukata (2nd) · Itō (3rd) · Okuma · Yamagata (2nd) · Itō (4th) · Katsura · Saionji · Katsura (2nd) · Saionji (2nd) · Katsura (3rd) · Yamamoto · Okuma (2nd) · Terauchi · Hara · Takahashi · To. Kato · Yamamoto (2nd) · Kiyoura · Ta. Kato · Wakatsuki · G. Tanaka · Hamaguchi · Wakatsuki (2nd) · Inukai · Saito · Okada · Hirota · Hayashi · Konoe · Hiranuma · N. Abe · Yonai · Konoe (2nd) · Tojo · Koiso · K. Suzuki · Prince Higashikuni · Shidehara · Yoshida · Katayama · Ashida · Yoshida (2nd) · Hatoyama · Ishibashi · Kishi · Ikeda · Sato · K. Tanaka · Miki · Fukuda · Ohira · Z. Suzuki · Nakasone · Takeshita · Uno · Kaifu · Miyazawa · Hosokawa · Hata · Murayama · Hashimoto · Obuchi · Mori · Koizumi · S. Abe