Japan’s Former PM Yasuo Fukuda Dies at 90, Led Push for China Ties

Tokyo (GNP): Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, remembered for his push to strengthen relations with China, has died at the age of 90. An official of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) confirmed the news on Monday.

The official said Fukuda died on October 22. He led the country for about a year from September 2007 and took over from Shinzo Abe, whose first term had ended after 12 months.

Improving relations with Beijing became a key foreign policy priority during that time. Fukuda invited the then Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit Japan, and the trip in May 2008 became the first visit by a Chinese head of state to the country in a decade.

His time in office was short. Fukuda resigned in September 2008 as his approval ratings declined, and he retired from politics in 2012.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing remained difficult after his departure. A dispute over an island chain and differences over history continued to strain the relationship.

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Fukuda kept working on that relationship after leaving office. In 2014, he travelled to China for talks with President Xi Jinping, a meeting that helped pave the way for a summit between Xi and Abe, who had returned to power for a second term.

Taken together, those efforts reflected his belief in keeping channels open between the two Asian powers, even when long-standing disputes remained unresolved.

That approach was set out during Hu’s 2008 visit, when Fukuda and Hu said in a joint statement that they would build a “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests.”