was a Japanese politician.

Life

Born in Imari, and a graduate of Fukuoka Middle School (present-day

Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School is a co-educational public senior high school located in Hakata ward, Fukuoka city, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. It is often called for short. Note, however, that there are several high schools with similar names in Saitama Prefecture in Easter ...

), he studied law first at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

and then at

Senshu University Senshu University (専修大学, ''Senshū Daigaku''), generally referred to as Senshu (専修) or Sen-Dai (専大), is a private university located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1880 as Senshu College , which was recognised as one of t ...

, graduating in 1944. After honing his skills as a politician in the Saga Prefectural Assembly (where he eventually became

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

), he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

on a ticket from the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

. After that, he won reelection ten times in a row. In

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987. His political term was best known for pushing through the privatization of state-owned companies and pursuing a hawkish and pro-U.S. fo ...

's second cabinet, he was named Transport minister. In Nakasone's third cabinet he was to lead the Management and Coordination Agency. In

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Born in Nagoya, Kaifu graduated from Waseda University and was first elected to the Diet in 1960 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as educ ...

's first cabinet he was named Chief Cabinet Secretary, but had to resign after only 16 days due to a sex scandal. In

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. Born in Tokyo, Miyazawa graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a law degree, and in 1942 joined the Ministry of Finance. He was first elected to the Nati ...

's cabinet he was

Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan The emperor of ...

. Between 1988 and 2003 he was chairperson of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Senshu University. He retired from national politics in 2000, but remained an adviser for the Saga branch of the LDP. He died in Imari on 1 January 2014.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamashita, Tokuo Government ministers of Japan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Senshu University alumni Politicians from Saga Prefecture 1919 births 2014 deaths Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians People from Imari, Saga