Yasuo Fukuda, who served as Japan’s prime minister from 2007 to 2008, has died at the age of 90. He died at a Tokyo hospital on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and the House of Representatives announced his death on Monday, Jiji Press reported. The Nikkei business daily said the cause was heart failure.
From oil executive to chief cabinet secretary
Fukuda was born on July 16, 1936. After graduating in economics from Waseda University he spent nearly two decades at an oil company, including two years in the United States. He left in 1976 to become political secretary to his father, Takeo Fukuda, when the elder Fukuda became prime minister.
He won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1990 for a constituency in Gunma Prefecture and was re-elected seven times in a row. In 2000 he became chief cabinet secretary, the government’s top spokesman, under Yoshiro Mori, and kept the job under Junichiro Koizumi until 2004, when he resigned as one of several ministers who admitted not paying into the state pension system. In 2003 he drew criticism for off-the-record comments about women and sexual assault.
A year as prime minister
Fukuda became prime minister in September 2007 after the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe, making him the first son of a prime minister to take the office himself. He joked that he might have drawn the short straw, inheriting a divided parliament in which the opposition could delay legislation.
In July 2008 he chaired the Group of Eight summit at Toyako in Hokkaido and pushed measures on climate change. Frustrated by the stalled legislative process, he announced his resignation in September 2008, after less than a year in office, a shorter tenure than his father’s.
A diplomatic dove
Fukuda used his time in office to seek closer ties with Japan’s Asian neighbours, particularly China, and made several visits to China after leaving office to try to improve relations. He is survived by his son, Tatsuo Fukuda, who is also a member of parliament.