23 Facts About Taku Yamasaki

Taku Yamasaki is a retired Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2009.

Taku Yamasaki directed the Director General of the Japan Defense Agency for two months in 1989, and served as Minister of Construction from 1991 to 1992.

Taku Yamasaki was a prominent faction leader in the Liberal Democratic Party during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and served as its Secretary-General and Vice President under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Taku Yamasaki's family moved to Fukuoka following the end of the war.

Taku Yamasaki lost his vision in one eye while in the third grade.

Taku Yamasaki graduated from Waseda University in 1959 with a degree in commerce, and worked at Bridgestone for five years before entering politics.

Taku Yamasaki was elected to the Fukuoka prefectural assembly in 1967, where he was discovered by future Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.

Nakasone persuaded Taku Yamasaki to run in the 1969 general election.

Taku Yamasaki was defeated in his first attempt to enter the Diet, but was successful in the 1972 general election.

Taku Yamasaki was an advocate of fiscal stimulus in the late 1990s, as Japan encountered a period of economic stagnation.

Taku Yamasaki was implicated in a fundraising scandal in 1997, when an oil wholesaler accused of income tax evasion and fraud testified before a Diet committee that he had given Taku Yamasaki 278 million yen in political donations, most of which was destined for other candidates.

Taku Yamasaki was a member of the "YKK" faction with Koichi Kato and Jun'ichiro Koizumi, and led a small faction that bore his name.

Taku Yamasaki sought to oust the incumbent prime minister Keizo Obuchi in the LDP presidential election of 1999, but placed third among three candidates.

In November 2000, along with Kato, Taku Yamasaki was heavily involved in a failed no confidence motion against Prime Minister Mori.

Koizumi was elected president of the LDP in 2001, and named Taku Yamasaki to serve as its Secretary-General, the second most powerful leader in the party.

Taku Yamasaki was a vocal supporter of Koizumi's reform efforts, which targeted the LDP's traditional pork barrel constituencies.

Taku Yamasaki's district in urban Fukuoka Prefecture, with an electorate that frequently moved in and out of the region for work, was a favorable battleground for opposition candidates.

Taku Yamasaki considered running in the 2004 House of Councillors election, but decided to keep his sights on returning to his previous constituency in the next election.

Koga resigned in September 2004, and Taku Yamasaki declared his candidacy for the by-election held in April 2005.

Taku Yamasaki won the by-election with support from Prime Minister Koizumi, who visited Fukuoka twice to campaign for Taku Yamasaki.

Taku Yamasaki remained with the LDP, and was defeated as the LDP suffered a crushing loss nationally.

Taku Yamasaki was unable to run as a PR list candidate in the 2010 House of Councillors election due to LDP retirement age rules, and opted not to run into the 2012 general election, announcing his retirement from politics.

Taku Yamasaki made a joint appearance with Shizuka Kamei, Hirohisa Fujii and Masayoshi Takemura in 2015 to express opposition to the security legislation proposed by the Abe government.