China Mourns Yasuo Fukuda, Japan’s Former Prime Minister, at 90

A former Japanese prime minister who spent years trying to keep ties with China open has died at 90. China’s Foreign Ministry responded Monday with condolences. It called Yasuo Fukuda an old friend who championed friendship between the countries and held a “correct view of history.” Fukuda died Thursday, Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party said, without giving further details. Japanese media reported he died of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital. ^1,14,15

Those efforts to build friendship began well before Fukuda’s retirement. The son of former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, he entered politics after more than 17 years working for an oil company and was elected to parliament in 1990. He became prime minister in 2007, building stable ties with Chinese President Hu Jintao. His time in office lasted only a year: his party controlled just one house of a divided parliament, making it hard to govern. After leaving politics in 2012, he continued working to improve relations with Beijing. ¹

That work mattered most when official ties were strained. A dispute over empty islands in the East China Sea had soured relations, but Fukuda traveled to China in 2014 to meet President Xi Jinping and seek a thaw. The AP reported that his visit helped pave the way for then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to meet Xi in China. Fukuda later warned that without talks, misunderstandings could raise the risk of events that would not happen under normal circumstances. ¹

The risk of losing that kind of personal bridge now hangs over relations already described as facing a grave test. China’s spokesman praised Fukuda’s contribution, while a report on his death said Beijing also urged Japan’s current government to “do serious soul-searching.”^14,15 Fukuda’s record showed the limits and value of quiet diplomacy: a single visit could help reopen contact, but it could not settle the disputes. The next immediate step is for Tokyo and Beijing to decide how to keep talks going without him.