Yukihiko Ikeda

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Prime MinisterRyutaro Hashimoto
Preceded byYōhei Kōno
Succeeded byKeizō Obuchi
Prime MinisterToshiki Kaifu
Yukihiko Ikeda
池田 行彦
Official portrait, 1996
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
11 January 1996  11 September 1997
Prime MinisterRyutaro Hashimoto
Preceded byYōhei Kōno
Succeeded byKeizō Obuchi
Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency
In office
29 December 1990  5 November 1991
Prime MinisterToshiki Kaifu
Preceded byYozo Ishikawa
Succeeded bySohei Miyashita
Director-General of the Management and Coordination Agency
In office
3 June 1989  10 August 1989
Prime MinisterSōsuke Uno
Preceded bySaburō Kanemaru
Succeeded byKiyoshi Mizuno
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
(Political affairs)
In office
30 November 1981  27 November 1982
Prime MinisterZenkō Suzuki
Preceded byRiki Kawara
Succeeded byTakao Fujinami
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
10 December 1976  28 January 2004
Preceded byYōzō Katō
Succeeded byMinoru Terada
ConstituencyHiroshima 2nd (1976–1996)
Hiroshima 5th (1996–2004)
Personal details
Born(1937-05-13)13 May 1937
Died28 January 2004(2004-01-28) (aged 66)
PartyLiberal Democratic
SpouseNoriko Ikeda
Children3
RelativesHayato Ikeda (father-in-law)
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo

Yukihiko Ikeda (池田 行彦, Ikeda Yukihiko; 13 May 1937 – 28 January 2004) was a Japanese bureaucrat and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1997.[1] Ikeda was known to be "Mr. No" in the political life.[2]

Ikeda was born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, on 13 May 1937.[3] Following the death of his father in 1944, he moved to Nakajima Honmachi, Hiroshima where his father's family lived. Ikeda studied law at the University of Tokyo and graduated in March 1961.[4]

Career

Ikeda with members of First Hashimoto Cabinet (at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on 11 January 1996)

Ikeda joined the Ministry of Finance in 1961[5] and worked as bureaucrat there.[4] Then he became a member of the House of Representatives in 1976 following his membership to the LDP.[4][6] He won the largest number of votes (55,027) in Hiroshima Prefecture's 2nd electoral district in the 1976 general election.[7] He served as a lawmaker ten times until his retirement.[8] He held key positions in the LDP and was the director general of the Defense Agency.[8] His other posts included chairman of the LDP's decision-making general council and head of the policy research council.[6] He was appointed defense minister on 29 December 1990, replacing Yozo Ishikawa in the post.[9] He served in the post until 5 November 1991 and was succeeded by Sohei Miyashita.[9]

Ikeda's second tenure as foreign minister was from 11 January 1996 to 11 September 1997 in the coalition government headed by Ryutaro Hashimoto.[8][10][11] Ikeda replaced Yōhei Kōno as foreign minister.[10] Upon the construction of a wharf facility in Takeshima/Dokdo by the South Korean government at the beginning of 1996, Ikeda protested over the construction and demanded that the South Korean government should stop it.[12] His remarks led to angry public demonstrations in Seoul.[12] He led Japan's attempts to solve the hostage crisis in Peru in the 1990s.[8] Ikeda was replaced by Keizō Obuchi as foreign minister on 11 September 1997.[10]

Later Ikeda became the policy chief or top policy planner of the LDP in 1998.[2][13] He was part of Koichi Kato's faction in the LDP.[2]

Personal life and death

Ikeda was son-in-law of former Japanese prime minister Hayato Ikeda.[7][8] He married Noriko Ikeda in May 1969,[4] and took his wife's family name.[14]

Ikeda died of rectum cancer in Tokyo on 28 January 2004 at age 66.[6][8]

Honours

References

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