was a Japanese political figure. He served as acting

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 ...

in 1980 after the sudden death of

Masayoshi Ōhira was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1978 until his death in 1980. Born in Kagawa Prefecture, Ōhira worked in the Ministry of Finance from 1936, and served as the private secretary to Hayato Ikeda, finance mi ...

. He then served as foreign minister of Japan from 1980 to 1981.

Early life

Ito was born on 15 December 1913 in

Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima is a Cities of Japan, city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . History The area of present-da ...

, where his grandfather was a member of the Aizu clan.

Career

Following the death of

, Ito became the acting prime minister for a brief period of about a month. In this brief period, he received a report in July from the Comprehensive National Security Study Group which encouraged Ito to strengthen

Japan–United States relations International relations between Japan and the United States began in the late 18th and early 19th century with the diplomatic but Unequal treaty#Japan and Korea, force-backed missions of U.S. ship captains James Glynn and Matthew C. Perry to the ...

whilst also increasing Japanese military self-sufficiency in light of developments within socialist Asia, such as the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a brief conflict that occurred in early 1979 between China and Vietnam. China launched an offensive ostensibly in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978, whi ...

and the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, which seemed to signal reductions in American power on the continent. Following this brief period, Ito served as

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from July 1980 to May 1981 in the cabinet of

Zenko Suzuki The Kudara no Konikishi clan (Japanese language, Japanese: 百済王氏, ''Kudara no konikishi-uji'') was a Japan, Japanese clan whose founder, Zenkō ( or ), was a son of Uija of Baekje, King Uija, the last king of Baekje (located in the southwes ...

, but he resigned from this position following American outrage at what the US government perceived as the Japanese government distancing itself from the US-Japanese military alliance following the previously mentioned Asian war developments. Ito developed a reputation as a "clean" and honest politician who did not become mired in scandals, and for this reason was suggested as a possible successor to Prime Minister

Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989. Born in Shimane Prefecture, Takeshita attended Waseda University and was drafted into the army during the Pacific War. He was first elected to the National Diet ...

after he resigned in disgrace due to the Recruit scandal, although Ito expressed doubts about whether the LDP was serious about reform after top party bosses rejected his comprehensive reform agenda and he thus declined.

Personal life

Ito was a cinephile and a fan of Mitsuko Mori. Ito, then battling with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, died on 21 May 1994.

References

, - , - , - , - , - 1913 births 1994 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan University of Tokyo alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Government ministers of Japan Deputy prime ministers of Japan Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Politicians from Fukushima Prefecture {{Japan-politician-stub