Yasuo Fukuda: Japan's former head of government dies at the age of 90

The LDP politician Fukuda took over the reins of government in September 2007 after Prime Minister Shinzō Abe resigned. However, Fukuda only remained in office for a year.

As head of government, Fukuda worked to improve relations between Japan and China. He invited then Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan; Hu's visit in May 2008 was the first by a Chinese leader to the country in years. In a joint statement at the time, Fukuda and Hu committed themselves to "relationships of mutual benefit based on common strategic interests."

The Fukudas, a family of politicians

Fukuda studied economics at the renowned Waseda University in Tokyo and then worked for an oil company. When his father Takeo Fukuda became prime minister in 1976, Yasuo also entered politics. He was elected to the lower house of the Japanese Parliament in 1990 and served as Chief of Cabinet from 2000 to 2004. Then he resigned amid a scandal over missed pension contributions.

However, this did not stop his political career. In 2007, after Abe's resignation, Fukuda was elected as the new prime minister. However, Parliament seemed so divided during this time that several proposed laws stalled. Frustrated by the situation, Fukuda resigned in 2008.

But even after his resignation, Fukuda made several visits to China to improve often strained relations. With relations between Tokyo and Beijing cooling, he visited China in 2014 and held talks with President Xi Jinping. In doing so, he prepared the basis for a summit meeting between Xi and Abe, who took over as prime minister again in 2012.