Toshio Kimura

Toshio Kimura (木村 俊夫, Kimura Toshio, 15 January 1909 – 1 December 1983) was a Japanese politician who served as foreign minister for six months in 1974.

Toshio Kimura
木村 俊夫
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
16 July 1974 – 9 December 1974
Prime MinisterKakuei Tanaka
Preceded byMasayoshi Ohira
Succeeded byKiichi Miyazawa
Head of the Economic Planning Agency
In office
5 July 1971 – 7 July 1972
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byIchiro Sato
Succeeded byKiichi Arita
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
22 June 1967 – 30 November 1968
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byKenji Fukunaga
Succeeded byShigeru Hori
Personal details
Born(1909-01-15)15 January 1909
Tōin, Japan
Died1 December 1983(1983-12-01) (aged 74)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materTokyo Imperial University

Early life

Kimura was born into a politically active family on 15 January 1909.[1] His father and grandfather were both lawmakers.[2]

Career

Kimura was elected to the House of Representatives for 12 times as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).[2] In addition, he served as chief cabinet secretary in the cabinet of then prime minister Eisaku Satō.[2] He was also chairman of the Parliamentarians' League for Japan-Palestine Friendship.[2] He organized Yasser Arafat's visit to Japan in 1981.[3]

His other posts include director-general of the economic planning agency and deputy chief cabinet secretary. In 1971, Kimura served as acting foreign minister.[4] He was appointed foreign minister by then prime minister Kakuei Tanaka in mid-July 1974, replacing Masayoshi Ohira.[5] Kimura was in office for six months in 1974.[2] Kimura visited Africa in late October and early November 1974, which initiated the cooperation between African countries and Japan.[6][7] He was the first senior Japanese government official to visit African countries.[8] His Africa visit included Ghana, Nigeria, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Tanzania, and Egypt.[7][9] Then Kimura became head of the LDP's Asian-African Studies Group in 1977.[10]

Personal life and death

Kimura was married and had a daughter.[2]

Kimura died of a heart attack at a hospital in Tokyo on 1 December 1983. He was 74.[2]

Honours

References
  1. "Foreign ministers of Japan". Rulers. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  2. "Toshio Kimura Dies; Former Tokyo Official". The New York Times. Tokyo. AP. 3 December 1983. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. "Toshio Kimura". Toledo Blade. 1 December 1983. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. Jacob Bercovitch; Kwei-Bo Huang; Chung-Chian Teng (7 May 2008). Conflict management, security and intervention in East Asia: third-party mediation in regional conflict. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-134-14102-9.
  5. "Tanaka reshuffles Japanese cabinet". Daytona Beach Morning. Tokyo. AP. 17 July 1974. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  6. "Chapter 2. Diplomatic Efforts Made by Japan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  7. Oda Hideo (Winter 2002). "Japan-Africa Relations in the Twenty-first Century" (PDF). Gaiko Forum: 42–46.
  8. Geoffrey Murray (30 March 1981). "'Independent' Japan begins to build better ties with black Africa". The CS Monitor. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. Jun Morikawa (1997). Japan and Africa: Big Business and Diplomacy. Hurst. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-85065-141-3.
  10. Sueo Sudō (1992). The Fukuda Doctrine and ASEAN: New Dimensions in Japanese Foreign Policy. Institute of Southeast Asian. p. 124. ISBN 978-981-3016-14-9.
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