13 Facts About Takeo Miki

Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976.

Takeo Miki was first elected to the National Diet in 1937, and after the war was leader of the National Cooperative Party, serving as communications minister from 1947 to 1948 under Tetsu Katayama.

Takeo Miki announced a "1 percent of GDP" guideline for defense spending, thus setting a precedent for the next two decades.

Takeo Miki was born on 17 March 1907, in Gosho, Tokushima Prefecture, the only child of farmer-merchant Hisayoshi Miki and his wife Takano.

Takeo Miki met Takano Miki, the daughter of farmer Tokitaro Miki, when the two were working for the Shibata family.

When Takeo Miki was born, Hisayoshi was 33 and Takano was 38 years old, and Takeo Miki was raised with much love as he was the only child.

Takeo Miki attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and was later awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the institution in 1966.

When Kishi railroaded the treaty through the Diet on May 19,1960, Takeo Miki's faction absented itself from the vote in protest of Kishi's heavy-handed approach.

Takeo Miki took over from Kakuei Tanaka as Prime Minister on 9 December 1974, following the latter's implication in the corruption concerning real-estate and construction companies.

Takeo Miki had neither expected nor wanted to be prime minister at all, as was reflected when upon his election he murmured "a bolt from the blue".

Takeo Miki was succeeded on 24 December 1976, by Takeo Fukuda.

In 1940, Takeo Miki married Mutsuko Mori, daughter of the prominent Japanese businessman and politician, Nobuteru Mori, who had founded Showa Denko, a major chemical engineering firm.

In Hong Kong, the name "Takeo Miki" is sometimes used to describe actors or actresses with wooden or no emotional expressions during movies or TV dramas.