Kabun Mutō

Kabun Mutō (武藤 嘉文, Mutō Kabun, 18 November 1926 – 4 November 2009) was a Japanese politician who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs for a brief period in 1993.

Kabun Mutō
武藤 嘉文
Official portrait, 1996
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 7 April 1993 – 9 August 1993
Prime Minister	Kiichi Miyazawa
Preceded by	Michio Watanabe
Succeeded by	Tsutomu Hata
Minister of International Trade and Industry
In office 28 February 1990 – 29 December 1990
Prime Minister	Toshiki Kaifu
Preceded by	Hikaru Matsunaga
Succeeded by	Eiichi Nakao
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office 9 November 1979 – 17 July 1980
Prime Minister	Masayoshi Ōhira Masayoshi Ito (acting)
Preceded by	Michio Watanabe
Succeeded by	Takao Kameoka
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 30 January 1967 – 8 August 2005
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Yoji Muto
Constituency	Gifu 1st (1967–1996) Gifu 3rd (1996–2005)
Personal details
Born	(1926-11-18)18 November 1926 Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan
Died	4 November 2009(2009-11-04) (aged 82) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic
Children	Yoji Muto
Parent	Kaichi Muto (father)
Alma mater	Kyoto University

Early life

Mutō was born in Kakamigahara in Gifu Prefecture in 1926. He studied at the Kyoto University. He was later elected to the House of Representatives of Japan.

Political career

Mutō founded and directed a minority studies group serving the Japanese government. Mutō replaced Michio Watanabe as Minister for Foreign Affairs.^[1] After his stint as Foreign Minister, Mutō would later hold positions at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. He subsequently retired from politics in 2005.

Honors

In March 1993 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia, for service to Australia–Japan relations.^[2]

Death

Mutō died in a Tokyo hospital from pancreatic cancer on 4 November 2009, at age 82.^[3]