1. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda died of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital on October 22 at age 90, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party announcing his death on Sunday. [para. 1][para. 2]
2. Fukuda served as Japan's 91st prime minister from 2007 to 2008, succeeding Shinzo Abe after Abe abruptly resigned following about a year in office. During his 365-day tenure, he advanced a thaw in ties with China after years of diplomatic strain over Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. [para. 3]
3. In May 2008, Fukuda and then Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a joint statement in Tokyo calling for comprehensive advancement of a "strategic relationship of mutual benefit." It was regarded as the fourth major political agreement between the countries, after the 1972 joint communiqué, the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and a 1998 joint declaration. The statement described the relationship as among the most important bilateral ties, said long-term peaceful friendship and cooperation was the only choice, reaffirmed the two countries were partners rather than threats, and had Japan reiterate its position on Taiwan as set out in the 1972 communiqué. It also called for regular leader exchanges, expanded security dialogue, greater cultural contacts, and energy and environmental cooperation. [para. 4][para. 5][para. 6][para. 7][para. 8]
4. Born in Tokyo's Setagaya ward on July 16, 1936, Fukuda graduated from Waseda University in 1959 and joined Maruzen Oil. In 1976 he became secretary to his father, Takeo Fukuda, prime minister from 1976 to 1978; they became Japan's first father-and-son pair to serve as prime minister. Fukuda was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990, and in October 2000 became chief cabinet secretary under Yoshiro Mori, remaining in the post under Koizumi, where he managed diplomatic fallout from the Yasukuni visits. [para. 10][para. 11][para. 12][para. 13]
5. When Abe resigned in September 2007, Fukuda defeated Taro Aso in the party leadership contest on September 23 and was selected as prime minister by parliament, with his cabinet formed three days later. Relations with Beijing had already begun recovering — Abe's October 2006 visit was described as an "ice-breaking journey," and Wen Jiabao's April 2007 trip furthered the thaw. Fukuda built on that momentum with his December 2007 visit to China, meeting Hu and Wen to discuss energy, climate change, security exchanges and youth programs, and delivering a speech at Peking University. He called the trip a "journey to welcome spring." [para. 14][para. 15][para. 16][para. 17]
6. Hu's May 2008 state visit was the first by a Chinese president in a decade. That June, Fukuda's government reached a preliminary East China Sea agreement, including joint development in designated areas and Japanese corporate participation under Chinese law in the Chunxiao field, though implementation later stalled. Fukuda attended the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in August 2008 and, at the G8 summit in Hokkaido the previous month, discussed East China Sea resources, food safety and North Korea with Chinese leaders. [para. 18][para. 19][para. 20]
7. Fukuda's China connections dated to his years as his father's secretary: in 1978, while Takeo Fukuda was prime minister, Japan and China signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and Yasuo was serving as a prime ministerial secretary when Deng Xiaoping visited Japan to exchange ratification documents. After leaving office, he continued engaging with China, including a confidential July 2014 trip to meet President Xi Jinping amid a downturn in relations. In a TBS television interview, he said politicians have a daily responsibility to prevent war. [para. 21][para. 22][para. 23][para. 24][para. 25]
8. Fukuda's death comes as Japan and China remain deeply intertwined economically but face renewed frictions over security, territorial disputes and Taiwan. [para. 9]
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