Former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo died on October 22. He was 90 years old.

Fukuda was born in 1936 as the eldest son of former Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo.

After working at an oil company, he won a seat in the House of Representatives election for the first time in 1990.

Fukuda served as chief Cabinet secretary under then Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro and his successor Koizumi Junichiro.

In April 2004, Fukuda set a record for the longest tenure as Japan’s top government spokesman at the time and earned the moniker “shadow prime minister.”

In 2007, when then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo suddenly announced his resignation, Fukuda ran in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election and won with support from nearly all factions within the ruling party.

Fukuda went on to become Japan’s 91st prime minister.

During his tenure, he struggled in a divided Diet in which opposition parties controlled the House of Councillors, the upper house of Japan’s bicameral parliament now known as the Senate.

He explored the possibility of forming a grand coalition with Ozawa Ichiro, who at the time was leader of the then largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan, but their talks fell through due to strong resistance within the DPJ.

Meanwhile, Fukuda placed emphasis on the interests of consumers and ordinary citizens, making efforts toward strengthening the National Consumer Affairs Center and establishing the Consumer Affairs Agency.

In foreign policy, he chaired the Group of Eight Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July 2008 and actively promoted Asian diplomacy, including expressing strong support for the ASEAN Community vision.

However, with policy implementation hampered by the divided parliament and public approval ratings sinking, he resigned as prime minister in September 2008, exactly one year after taking office.

Even after retiring from politics in 2012, he remained active in promoting diplomatic relations with China and other Asian countries.

A funeral has already been held with only close relatives, while a formal memorial service is scheduled at a later date.