Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 12:00 - 14:00
Makiko Tanaka,Former Minister for Foreign Affairs
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.
Makiko Tanaka, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, has witnessed at first hand domestic politics dominated by a fierce power rivalry between her charismatic father Kakuei Tanaka and Takeo Fukuda over years since 1970.
Tanaka, who has avoided running in the last two general elections after losing her lower-house seat in 2012, may speak about the status quo of Japanese politics and the fate of opposition parties as a politician that has switched allegiance from the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to the then largely center-left Democratic Party of Japan.
The power struggle, dubbed the Tanaka-Fukuda War (Kaku-Fuku Senso), broke out as the two LDP faction bosses vyed to succeed Eisaku Sato as premier after his long eight-year tenure. Tanaka, a self-made man with limited formal education, who pushed for rapid economic growth, served two years as premier before stepping down in 1974 amid money scandals involving him, including the Lockheed payoff affair. But his vast influence as a kingmaker persisted until he suffered a stroke in 1985 and his allies deserted him two years later. Fukuda, a graduate of the elite University of Tokyo, who served as a finance ministry bureaucrat before entering politics, headed the government from 1976 to 1978.
The younger Tanaka, 74, at times played the role of first lady, just like US first daughter Ivanka Trump, accompanying the "computerized bulldozer" on his overseas trips, because her mother was frail. She was first elected to the lower house in 1993 months before her father's death. Her straightforward plain-talking style has proven popular but ruffled some feathers as she held several cabinet posts. She told the AERA magazine last year she was still too concerned about politics to retire from it. "That's my DNA."
Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). The charge for members/members' guest is 1,750/2,700 yen; non-members eligible to attend may pay in cash by e mail reservation (front@fccj.or.jp). (Menu:Grilled Chicken with Rock Salt and Lime) Reservations canceled less than one hour in advance for working press members, and 24 hours for all others, will be charged in full. Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation. For meal service, please enter the room by 12:25.
Professional Activities Committee
