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[[File:Hiromu Nonaka 199807.jpg|thumb|250px|Hiromu Nonaka]]
[[File:Hiromu Nonaka 199807.jpg|thumb|250px|Hiromu Nonaka]]
{{nihongo|'''Hiromu Nonaka'''|野中 広務|Nonaka Hiromu|extra=born October 20, 1925}} is a Japanese [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]] politician and former member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]. He is a lecturer at [[Heian Jogakuin University]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
{{nihongo|'''Hiromu Nonaka'''|野中 広務|Nonaka Hiromu|extra=born October 20, 1925}} is a Japanese [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]] politician. He was a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], and served as Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the National Public Safety Commission from 1994 to 1995, as [[Chief Cabinet Secretary]] from 1998 to 1999, and as Head of the Okinawa Development Agency in 1999.


== Early life and local political career ==
== Overviews ==
Nonaka was born in the town of [[Sonobe, Kyoto|Sonobe]] (now part of the city of [[Nantan, Kyoto|Nantan]]) in central [[Kyoto Prefecture]]. After graduating high school in 1943, he worked for the [[Japanese National Railways]] in [[Osaka]], an office managed at the time by future prime minister [[Eisaku Satō|Eisaku Sato]].
[[File:Murayama Government 19940630.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hiromu Nonaka was inaugurated as Minister of State on June 30, 1994.]]
He has held the following posts:<ref>[http://web-japan.org/trends98/honbun/ntj990120.html Coalition cabinet formed] accessed 23.5.2009</ref>


Nonaka encountered discrimination in his youth as a member of the [[Burakumin|''burakumin'']] group; he later said this discrimination was a factor in his decision to leave JNR and enter politics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/17/news/mn-28243|title=Japan's Cabinet Secretary Wields Power on His Own Terms|last=REITMAN|first=VALERIE|date=1999-04-17|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> He entered local politics in Sonobe, where he served as a member of the local assembly from 1951 to 1958, and as mayor from 1958 to 1966. He then won a seat in the Kyoto prefectural assembly and served from 1967 to 1978.
* Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the National Public Safety Commission, 1994-1995 ([[Tomiichi Murayama]] administration)
* [[Chief Cabinet Secretary]], 1998-1999 ([[Keizo Obuchi]] administration)
* Head of the Okinawa Development Agency, 1999
In 2001 he was seen as a contender for the post of [[Prime Minister of Japan]]. During his candidacy, future Prime Minister [[Tarō Asō]] allegedly made remarks disparaging towards his [[Burakumin]] heritage. While Asō initially denied the remarks, they appeared to be confirmed later. Nonaka later remarked that he would "never forgive" Asō for the remarks.<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp">Yamaguchi, Mari, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090125a2.html Discrimination claims die hard in Japan]", ''[[The Japan Times]]'', January 25, 2009, p. 2.</ref>


Nonaka also established and operated Japan's first care facility for individuals with profound physical disabilities during the 1970s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}
He briefly served as vice-governor of Kyoto in 1978, but resigned to establish and serve as the chairman of Japan's first care facility for individuals with profound physical disabilities.


== Diet career ==
On June 5, 2013, Hiromu Nonaka led a delegation including former Prime Minister [[Yukio Hatoyama]] to visit Beijing. They conferred with [[Liu Yunshan]], a member of the [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China]]. In 1972, the Japanese government underwent negotiations with Chinese Primer [[Zhou Enlai]] to establish formal diplomatic relationship and signed the [[Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China|China-Japan Joint Declaration]] when Nonaka was one of a member of the [[Kyoto Prefecture|Kyoto prefectural]] assembly, eleven years before becoming a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]. He testified before media what he said was told at a Tanaka faction's workshop held in [[Hakone, Kanagawa|Hakone]] not long after the meeting with Zhou Enlai:<ref>{{cite news|agency=NHK World|title=Nonaka: Japan, China dropped Senkaku issue|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvty3r4AA1k|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Kyodo|title=Senkaku row shelved in ’70s: Nonaka|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/05/national/japan-china-agreed-to-shelve-senkaku-row-in-1970s-nonaka-says-in-beijing/#.UbAXO0BDtsU|newspaper=The Japan Times|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="living witness">{{cite web|url=http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/130606/stt13060608300001-n1.htm|title=尖閣「生き証人」のうさん臭い告白|trans_title= Senkaku: a dubious confession by "a living witness" |date=2013-06-06|publisher= The Sankei Shimbun}} archived at https://archive.is/hla1S</ref>
Nonaka entered the House of Representatives by winning the [[Kyoto 2nd district (1947–93)|Kyoto 2nd district]] by-election of 1983, in which two seats were open following the death of incumbent representatives Shigesaburo Maeo and Sen'ichi Tanigaki. Tanigaki's son [[Sadakazu Tanigaki]] won the most votes in the election, followed by Nonaka.


In the 1980s, Nonaka was part of the House faction headed by [[Noboru Takeshita]]. He rose to prominence following the [[Recruit scandal]], which led to the collapse of the Takeshita faction, and the [[Japanese general election, 1990|1990 general election]], in which the LDP entered the opposition for the first time in decades. As few LDP Diet members had experience being part of the opposition, Nonaka drew on his experience as part of the local and prefectural assembly opposition in Kyoto to become one of the most prominent Diet critics of the [[Morihiro Hosokawa|Hosokawa government]].[[File:Murayama Government 19940630.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hiromu Nonaka was inaugurated as Minister of State on June 30, 1994.]]Following the collapse of the Hosokawa-led coalition in the [[Japanese general election, 1993|1993 general election]], Nonaka entered the Cabinet for the first time in 1994 as part of the [[Tomiichi Murayama|Murayama government]]. He served as Home Minister through the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]] of 1995, and drew attention for his personal apology to a suspect falsely accused of poisoning his wife and neighbors with sarin.<ref name=":0" />
{{quote|As a living witness, I would like to make clear (what I heard), just after the normalization of relations, I was told clearly by then-Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka that a decision was made on the normalization by shelving the Senkaku issue. --former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka}}


At the request of Prime Minister [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]], he travelled to China in 1998 to express remorse to victims of the [[Nanking Massacre|Nanjing massacre]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/may/12/news/mn-48915|title=Japanese Right Praises Film on WWII Leader|last=EFRON|first=SONNI|date=1998-05-12|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Later that year, in response to a demand for further apologies by Chinese premier [[Jiang Zemin]], Nonaka described the issue as a "finished problem."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/30/world/burying-the-past-war-guilt-haunts-japan.html|title=Burying the Past: War Guilt Haunts Japan|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas D.|date=1998-11-30|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
This testimony is in stark contradiction to claims made by Japanese officials including then-Foreign Minister [[Seiji Maehara]] in October 2010,<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan Denies Consensus on Shelving Territorial Issues, Considered Abusing History|url=http://news.qq.com/a/20121018/000568.htm|publisher=Tencent|quote=在2010年10月的国会上，(时任)民主党政权外相的前原(诚司)在答辩中曾称，邓小平副总理所提出的搁置争议只是其单方面发言，日方并没有就此与中方达成共识。必须要指出的是，(前原)的这一发言是践踏历史事实的谎言，是虚假的。|language=Chinese|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref> present Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]] in May 2013,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chinanews.com/shipin/2013/05-20/news218998.shtml|publisher=China Network Television|title=Abe Denies Consensus of Shelving Territorial Issues with China|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref> and present [[Chief Cabinet Secretary]] [[Yoshihide Suga]] also in May 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japanese Delegation: Abe Administration Blatantly Deny Japan-China's Consensus on Shelving Territorial Issues|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-06/05/c_124812128.htm|publisher=China Youth Daily|language=Chinese|accessdate=7 June 2013}}</ref> Mr. Nonaka's recall drew fires from the present Chief Cabinat Secretary [[Yoshihide Suga]].


He was named Chief Cabinet Secretary under Prime Minister [[Keizō Obuchi|Obuchi]] in 1998. He wielded an unusual amount of power in this role, and was viewed by many insiders as a shadow leader of the government, arranging a major bank bailout plan and bringing the faction led by [[Ichirō Ozawa|Ichiro Ozawa]] into the governing coalition.<ref name=":0" /> A ''TIME'' article in December 1998 called Nonaka "Japan's most powerful man."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053971,00.html|title=Japan's Most Powerful Man|last=MACINTYRE|first=DONALD|date=1998-12-21|work=Time|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
''[[Sankei Shimbun]]'' poses a question whether an incumbent Prime Minister divulged such an important national secret to a minor local assembly member like Nonaka and others and it is too unnatural such a comment has not been surfaced until his testimony.<ref name="living witness"/>

As LDP secretary-general, he played a key role in defeating a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister [[Yoshirō Mori|Yoshiro Mori]] in 2000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/20/news/mn-54782|title=Japan's Ruling Party Moves to Quash Mutiny Over Mori|last=|first=|date=2000-11-20|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-10-12|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/01/news/mn-59743|title=LDP Official Quits; Mori May Be at More Risk|last=|first=|date=2000-12-01|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-10-12|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|last2=|first2=|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

In 2001 he was seen as a contender for the presidency of the LDP, and thereby for [[Prime Minister of Japan]]. He was reluctant to take the position as it would place his background in the spotlight.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/world/asia/16outcasts.html|title=Japan’s Outcasts Still Wait for Acceptance|last=Onishi|first=Norimitsu|date=2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> During his candidacy, future Prime Minister [[Tarō Asō]] allegedly made remarks disparaging towards Nonaka's heritage. Nonaka later remarked that he would "never forgive" Asō for the remarks.<ref name="search.japantimes.co.jp">Yamaguchi, Mari, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090125a2.html Discrimination claims die hard in Japan]", ''[[The Japan Times]]'', January 25, 2009, p. 2.</ref> Aso denied making the remarks when questioned in 2005.<ref name=":1" /> Nonaka ultimately supported [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]] in the election,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/11/world/japans-hashimoto-enters-prime-minister-race.html|title=Japan's Hashimoto Enters Prime Minister Race|last=|first=|date=2001-04-11|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-12|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> but Hashimoto lost to [[Junichiro Koizumi]].

Koizumi's politics led to a decline in the power of LDP factions, including Nonaka's. Nonaka vigorously opposed the re-election of Koizumi as LDP president in September 2003, stating that "this election will decide whether Japan will be able to survive or go into decline as a nation."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/world/japanese-election-exposes-rents-in-party-fabric.html|title=Japanese Election Exposes Rents in Party Fabric|last=Onishi|first=Norimitsu|date=2003-09-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After Koizumi was re-elected, Nonaka announced his retirement from politics in October 2003. He did not run in the [[Japanese general election, 2003|2003 general election]], but campaigned for the LDP candidate in his district.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/koizumis-children-133447|title=Koizumi's Children|date=2003-11-09|work=Newsweek|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en}}</ref>

== Post-retirement ==
Following his 2003 departure from the Diet, Nonaka served as chairman of the National Federation of Land Improvement Industry Groups, a powerful supporter of the LDP. After the formation of the [[Democratic Party of Japan]] government in 2009, Nonaka resigned from the LDP in 2011 for the stated reason of preserving his neutrality. He rejoined the LDP in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mainichi.jp/senkyo/articles/20160614/k00/00m/010/040000c|title=野中広務氏：自民復党を決定　参院選での協力期待 - 毎日新聞|work=毎日新聞|access-date=2017-10-12|language=ja-JP}}</ref>

On June 5, 2013, Nonaka led a delegation including former Prime Minister [[Yukio Hatoyama]] to visit Beijing and confer with [[Liu Yunshan]], a member of the [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China]]. Nonaka told reporters that as a young politician in the 1970s, he had heard [[Kakuei Tanaka]] state that an agreement had been reached to shelve the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands in order to normalize relations between the countries.<ref name="living witness">{{cite web|url=http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/130606/stt13060608300001-n1.htm|title=尖閣「生き証人」のうさん臭い告白|trans_title= Senkaku: a dubious confession by "a living witness" |date=2013-06-06|publisher= The Sankei Shimbun}} archived at https://archive.is/hla1S</ref> Chief Cabinet Secretary [[Yoshihide Suga]] denied the claim as "baseless" and alleged that Nonaka had been influenced by "Chinese hospitality."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2013-06/09/content_29081861.htm|title=Japan - trying to rewrite history? - China.org.cn|last=|first=|date=|website=www.china.org.cn|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-10-12}}</ref>

Nonaka publicly criticized the LDP's plans to revise [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution]] in 2017, stating that "Japan should not go through the history of war again."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sankei.com/politics/news/170704/plt1707040073-n1.html|title=【憲法改正】野中広務・元自民党幹事長「反対。再び戦争になる歴史を歩むべきではない」|last=|first=|date=2017-07-04|work=産経ニュース|access-date=2017-10-12|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=ja-JP}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 18:24, 12 October 2017

Hiromu Nonaka

Hiromu Nonaka (野中 広務, Nonaka Hiromu, born October 20, 1925) is a Japanese LDP politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and served as Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the National Public Safety Commission from 1994 to 1995, as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1998 to 1999, and as Head of the Okinawa Development Agency in 1999.

Early life and local political career

Nonaka was born in the town of Sonobe (now part of the city of Nantan) in central Kyoto Prefecture. After graduating high school in 1943, he worked for the Japanese National Railways in Osaka, an office managed at the time by future prime minister Eisaku Sato.

Nonaka encountered discrimination in his youth as a member of the burakumin group; he later said this discrimination was a factor in his decision to leave JNR and enter politics.[1] He entered local politics in Sonobe, where he served as a member of the local assembly from 1951 to 1958, and as mayor from 1958 to 1966. He then won a seat in the Kyoto prefectural assembly and served from 1967 to 1978.

He briefly served as vice-governor of Kyoto in 1978, but resigned to establish and serve as the chairman of Japan's first care facility for individuals with profound physical disabilities.

Diet career

Nonaka entered the House of Representatives by winning the Kyoto 2nd district by-election of 1983, in which two seats were open following the death of incumbent representatives Shigesaburo Maeo and Sen'ichi Tanigaki. Tanigaki's son Sadakazu Tanigaki won the most votes in the election, followed by Nonaka.

In the 1980s, Nonaka was part of the House faction headed by Noboru Takeshita. He rose to prominence following the Recruit scandal, which led to the collapse of the Takeshita faction, and the 1990 general election, in which the LDP entered the opposition for the first time in decades. As few LDP Diet members had experience being part of the opposition, Nonaka drew on his experience as part of the local and prefectural assembly opposition in Kyoto to become one of the most prominent Diet critics of the Hosokawa government.

Hiromu Nonaka was inaugurated as Minister of State on June 30, 1994.

Following the collapse of the Hosokawa-led coalition in the 1993 general election, Nonaka entered the Cabinet for the first time in 1994 as part of the Murayama government. He served as Home Minister through the Tokyo subway sarin attack of 1995, and drew attention for his personal apology to a suspect falsely accused of poisoning his wife and neighbors with sarin.[1]

At the request of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, he travelled to China in 1998 to express remorse to victims of the Nanjing massacre.[2] Later that year, in response to a demand for further apologies by Chinese premier Jiang Zemin, Nonaka described the issue as a "finished problem."[3]

He was named Chief Cabinet Secretary under Prime Minister Obuchi in 1998. He wielded an unusual amount of power in this role, and was viewed by many insiders as a shadow leader of the government, arranging a major bank bailout plan and bringing the faction led by Ichiro Ozawa into the governing coalition.[1] A TIME article in December 1998 called Nonaka "Japan's most powerful man."[4]

As LDP secretary-general, he played a key role in defeating a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in 2000.[5][6]

In 2001 he was seen as a contender for the presidency of the LDP, and thereby for Prime Minister of Japan. He was reluctant to take the position as it would place his background in the spotlight.[7] During his candidacy, future Prime Minister Tarō Asō allegedly made remarks disparaging towards Nonaka's heritage. Nonaka later remarked that he would "never forgive" Asō for the remarks.[8] Aso denied making the remarks when questioned in 2005.[7] Nonaka ultimately supported Ryutaro Hashimoto in the election,[9] but Hashimoto lost to Junichiro Koizumi.

Koizumi's politics led to a decline in the power of LDP factions, including Nonaka's. Nonaka vigorously opposed the re-election of Koizumi as LDP president in September 2003, stating that "this election will decide whether Japan will be able to survive or go into decline as a nation."[10] After Koizumi was re-elected, Nonaka announced his retirement from politics in October 2003. He did not run in the 2003 general election, but campaigned for the LDP candidate in his district.[11]

Post-retirement

Following his 2003 departure from the Diet, Nonaka served as chairman of the National Federation of Land Improvement Industry Groups, a powerful supporter of the LDP. After the formation of the Democratic Party of Japan government in 2009, Nonaka resigned from the LDP in 2011 for the stated reason of preserving his neutrality. He rejoined the LDP in 2016.[12]

On June 5, 2013, Nonaka led a delegation including former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to visit Beijing and confer with Liu Yunshan, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. Nonaka told reporters that as a young politician in the 1970s, he had heard Kakuei Tanaka state that an agreement had been reached to shelve the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands in order to normalize relations between the countries.[13] Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied the claim as "baseless" and alleged that Nonaka had been influenced by "Chinese hospitality."[14]

Nonaka publicly criticized the LDP's plans to revise Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution in 2017, stating that "Japan should not go through the history of war again."[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c REITMAN, VALERIE (1999-04-17). "Japan's Cabinet Secretary Wields Power on His Own Terms". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  2. ^ EFRON, SONNI (1998-05-12). "Japanese Right Praises Film on WWII Leader". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  3. ^ Kristof, Nicholas D. (1998-11-30). "Burying the Past: War Guilt Haunts Japan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  4. ^ MACINTYRE, DONALD (1998-12-21). "Japan's Most Powerful Man". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  5. ^ "Japan's Ruling Party Moves to Quash Mutiny Over Mori". Los Angeles Times. 2000-11-20. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "LDP Official Quits; Mori May Be at More Risk". Los Angeles Times. 2000-12-01. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ a b Onishi, Norimitsu (2009). "Japan's Outcasts Still Wait for Acceptance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  8. ^ Yamaguchi, Mari, "Discrimination claims die hard in Japan", The Japan Times, January 25, 2009, p. 2.
  9. ^ "Japan's Hashimoto Enters Prime Minister Race". The New York Times. 2001-04-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (2003-09-20). "Japanese Election Exposes Rents in Party Fabric". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  11. ^ "Koizumi's Children". Newsweek. 2003-11-09. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  12. ^ "野中広務氏：自民復党を決定　参院選での協力期待 - 毎日新聞". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  13. ^ "尖閣「生き証人」のうさん臭い告白". The Sankei Shimbun. 2013-06-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help) archived at https://archive.is/hla1S
  14. ^ "Japan - trying to rewrite history? - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-12. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ "【憲法改正】野中広務・元自民党幹事長「反対。再び戦争になる歴史を歩むべきではない」". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2017-10-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)


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