Tatsuo Tanaka

Tanaka Tatsuo (Japanese: 田中 龍夫, Tanaka Tatsuo) was born on 20 September 1910 in Hagi, Yamaguchi, Japan. He was the eldest son of Tanaka Giichi, who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and was the Prime Minister of Japan.

For his education, Tanaka attended Gyosei High School and later Urawa High School, which is now part of Saitama University. He subsequently enrolled at Tokyo Imperial University. After his father's death, Tanaka inherited the title of baron. He married Takahashi Setsuko.

Following his graduation from Tokyo Imperial University in 1937, Tanaka joined the South Manchuria Railway. His early career included roles such as a researcher at the Planning Agency, a bureaucrat within the Ministry of Munitions, and a secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Shimada Toshio during the Koiso Cabinet. After World War II, he was appointed secretary to Minister of Commerce and Industry Ogasawara Mikio in the Shidehara Cabinet.

On 11 May 1946, Tanaka was elected to the House of Peers as a baron, serving until its abolition on 2 May 1947. In 1946, he was elected as the first governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture under the new public election system. He resigned from the governorship partway through his second term in 1953 to run as an independent candidate in the 26th House of Representatives election. He was elected from the old Yamaguchi 1st district and joined the Japan Liberal Party. Later, he joined the Japan Democratic Party, aligning with Nobusuke Kishi, a fellow politician from Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Tanaka subsequently became a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which was formed through a merger of conservative parties. During his political career, he held several ministerial positions: he served as Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Takeo Fukuda Cabinet and as Minister of Education in the Zenkō Suzuki Cabinet from 17 July 1980 to 30 November 1981. In 1981, he was appointed as the LDP General Council Chairman under Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki.

Tanaka retired from political activities after the dissolution of the House of Representatives in 1990. In that year, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. He passed away on 30 March 1998 at the age of 87. Tanaka Tatsuo is buried in Tama Cemetery.