Kazuko Asō

Kazuko Aso (née Yoshida; born May 13, 1915—died March 15, 1996) was a Japanese politician, the third daughter of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. She was married to businessman Taga Aso and was the mother of Taro Aso.

Life

She was born in An-tung, China, on May 13, 1915. Her father was Shigeru Yoshida, and her mother was Yukiko Yoshida. During her childhood, in 1919 and 1920, she traveled with her father to Paris and London, where she attended local elementary schools.

In 1922, she moved to Tianjin and attended an English boys’ school in China. Due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, she remained in Tokyo with her family, though her father was assigned alone to Fengtian. She graduated from Sacred Heart Girls’ School.

In December 1930, she moved to Rome accompanying her father’s diplomatic posting to Italy, attending the Sacred Heart Girls’ College in Rome (Trinità dei Monti) and studying abroad at the University of London. From around 1930, she served as her father Shigeru’s secretary and was influenced by her mother to convert to Catholicism; her baptismal name was Mary Dorothea.

She accompanied her father on his visit to Europe and North America from October 1934. During the February 26 Incident in 1936, while staying in Yugawara, her grandfather Nobuhiko Makino was attacked by rebels. Thanks to her and her grandmother’s quick thinking, the crisis was averted. That same year, she went to England when her father Shigeru was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, continuing her activities as a student.

Until she received orders to return to Japan in 1938, she supported her mother’s diplomatic activities. Her mother, Yukiko, died in 1941.

In May 1946, her father Shigeru became Prime Minister of Japan. She accompanied him to the San Francisco Peace Conference on September 8, 1951. She witnessed her father’s death on October 20, 1967. The funeral was held at Tokyo Cathedral and later designated as a state funeral.

On December 2, 1980, her husband Taga Aso passed away. In November 1986, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures, Second Class.

She authored "Father Shigeru Yoshida," published by Kōbunsha in 1993. She died at the age of 80 in 1996 and was buried in Aoyama Reien (Aoyama Cemetery).

Relatives

Her maternal great-grandfathers were the politicians Taro Okubo and Tōgō Muneaki. Her grandfather was Nobuhiko Makino, and her father was Shigeru Yoshida, who served as Japan’s 45th and 48th-51st Prime Minister. Her brother was the literary critic and novelist Ken’ichi Yoshida.

Her husband was businessman and politician Taga Aso. Their children include businessman Taro Aso (the 92nd Prime Minister), Princess Nobuko, and others such as Yasuo Aso, Yukiko Sōma, and Akifune Arakune. Her grandchildren include Iwao Aso, Ken Aso, Princess Akiko, and Princess Yako.