Yoshirō Mori
Prime Minister of Japan from 2000 to 2001 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yoshirō Mori (森 喜朗, Mori Yoshirō, born 14 July 1937) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2000 to 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his premiership.[lower-alpha 1]
Yoshiro Mori | |
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森 喜朗 | |
![]() Official portrait, 2000 | |
Prime Minister of Japan | |
In office 5 April 2000 – 26 April 2001 | |
Monarch | Akihito |
Preceded by | Keizō Obuchi |
Succeeded by | Junichiro Koizumi |
President of the Liberal Democratic Party | |
In office 5 April 2000 – 24 April 2001 | |
Secretary-General | |
Preceded by | Keizō Obuchi |
Succeeded by | Junichiro Koizumi |
Minister of Construction | |
In office 8 August 1995 – 11 January 1996 | |
Prime Minister | Tomiichi Murayama |
Preceded by | Koken Nosaka |
Succeeded by | Eiichi Nakao |
Minister of International Trade and Industry | |
In office 12 December 1992 – 20 July 1993 | |
Prime Minister | Kiichi Miyazawa |
Preceded by | Kozo Watanabe |
Succeeded by | Hiroshi Kumagai |
Minister of Education | |
In office 27 December 1983 – 1 November 1984 | |
Prime Minister | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
Preceded by | Mitsuo Setoyama |
Succeeded by | Hikaru Matsunaga |
President of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games | |
In office 21 August 2016 – 18 February 2021 | |
IOC President | Thomas Bach |
Preceded by | Carlos Arthur Nuzman |
Succeeded by | Seiko Hashimoto |
Chair of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games | |
In office 24 January 2014 – 18 February 2021 | |
Preceded by | Committee established |
Succeeded by | Seiko Hashimoto |
Member of the House of Representatives from Ishikawa | |
In office 28 December 1969 – 20 October 1996 | |
Preceded by | Eiichi Sakata |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Constituency | 1st district (Multi-member) |
In office 20 October 1996 – 16 November 2012 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Hajime Sasaki |
Constituency | 2nd district |
Personal details | |
Born | (1937-07-14) 14 July 1937 (age 87) Nomi, Ishikawa, Empire of Japan |
Political party | Liberal Democratic (Seiwakai) |
Spouse | Chieko Maki |
Children | Yūki Mori Yoko Fujimoto |
Alma mater | Waseda University (BBA) |
Website | Yoshiro Mori WebSite |
Mori was born in present-day Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan, and worked as a journalist before entering politics. In 1969, Mori was elected in the lower house for the Ishikawa 2nd district. He served in government as education minister in 1983 and 1984, international trade and industry minister in 1992 and 1993, and construction minister in 1995 and 1996, and later became secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). After Keizō Obuchi suffered a stroke and cerebral hemorrhage on 2 April 2000 and was unable to continue in office, Mori became president of the LDP and prime minister days before Obuchi's death.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/President_Bill_Clinton_and_Prime_Minister_Yoshiro_Mori.jpg/220px-President_Bill_Clinton_and_Prime_Minister_Yoshiro_Mori.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Mori_and_bush.jpg/640px-Mori_and_bush.jpg)
The media coverage of Mori's term as prime minister was dominated by his gaffes and undiplomatic comments, which led to him becoming unpopular in opinion polls. Members of his cabinet resigned due to fundraising scandals, which also contributed to his unpopularity. In November 2000, with Mori's approval ratings below 30%, opposition politicians attempted to win a vote of no confidence against Mori by soliciting support from rebels within the LDP, although this was quashed after LDP politicians who voted for the measure were threatened with expulsion. Towards the end of Mori's term, his approval rating dropped to single digits. In April 2021, Mori officially announced his intention to resign. Junichiro Koizumi won the subsequent LDP leadership election and became prime minister on 26 April 2001.
After resigning as prime minister, Mori remained a member of the House of Representatives until announcing in July 2012 that he would not stand in the 2012 general election. He remained an important player in Russo-Japanese relations following his resignation as prime minister due to his close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin. Following his premiership, Mori served as the President of the Japan Rugby Football Union as well as the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union. In 2014, he was appointed to head the organizing committee for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics,[7] but he resigned in 2021 following gaffes made at a committee meeting that were perceived as sexist.[8] In 2003, Mori received the highest distinction of the Scout Association of Japan, the Golden Pheasant Award.