Shozaburo Nakamura

Shozaburo Nakamura (中村 正三郎, Nakamura Shōzaburō, 1934 – 1 September 2023) was a Japanese business leader and politician. He served in the House of Representatives of Japan and was the Minister of Justice from 1998 to 1999.^[1]

Shozaburo Nakamura
中村 正三郎
Official portrait, 1998
Minister of Justice
In office 30 July 1998 – 8 March 1999
Prime Minister	Keizō Obuchi
Preceded by	Kokichi Shimoinaba
Succeeded by	Takao Jinnouchi
Director-General of the Environmental Agency
In office 5 November 1991 – 12 December 1992
Prime Minister	Kiichi Miyazawa
Preceded by	Kazuo Aichi
Succeeded by	Taikan Hayashi
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 7 October 1979 – 8 August 2005
Constituency	Chiba 3rd (1979–1996) Southern Kanto PR (1996–2000; 2003–2005) Chiba 12th (2000–2003)
Personal details
Born	(1934-07-18)18 July 1934 Miyoshi, Chiba, Japan
Died	1 September 2023(2023-09-01) (aged 89)
Political party	Liberal Democratic

Early life and career

Shozaburo Nakamura was born in 1934.^[2] He was a business leader.^[3] He served in the lower house of the Japanese Diet.^[3] He also held the positions of state minister for the environment agency and parliamentary vice-minister for finance.^[4]

Nakamura was appointed Justice Minister in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on 30 July 1998.^[5] Nakamura replaced Kokichi Shimoinaba as Justice Minister.^[2] Nakamura's term ended on 8 March 1999 when he resigned from office over the controversy sparked when Arnold Schwarzenegger was allowed to enter Japan without a passport in October 1998.^[6][7] Takao Jinnouchi became Justice Minister on 8 March 1999, replacing Nakamura in the post.^[8]

Personal life and death

Nakamura was among the richest members of the lower house and was ranked fourth with assets worth about 1.5 billion yen in 2000.^[9]

Shozaburo Nakamura died on 1 September 2023, at the age of 89.^[10]

References

1. The International Who's Who 2004. London: Europa Publications. 2003. p. 1199. ISBN 978-1-85743-217-6.
2. "Japanese ministries". Rulers. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
3. John Catalinotto (28 January 1999). "A Minister's Slip of the Tongue?". Labour.net. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
4. "Obuchi names cabinet: Government to Focus on Economic Issues". Trends in Japan. 31 July 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
5. "Japan's new cabinet lineup". Japan Policy & Politics. Tokyo. 3 August 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
6. "Japanese Minister Resigns". The New York Times. 8 March 1999. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
7. "Passport row as Arnie flies into Japan". BBC. 3 March 1999. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
8. Martin Fakler (8 March 1999). "Japan gets new justice minister". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
9. "Lower House ranks' assets slip". The Japan Times. 5 December 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
10. "中村正三郎氏死去 元法相". Kahoku (in Japanese). 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.