Sōsuke Uno

Sōsuke Uno (宇野 宗佑, Uno Sōsuke) was a Japanese politician born on 27 August 1922 in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture. He died on 19 May 1998. Uno's family owned a sake brewery named Arachō and had previously operated a hotel and a general store in his birthplace. The family also served as town officials, known as Toshiyori.

Uno graduated from Hikone Commercial College (later Shiga University) in 1943, where he was elected student president and led the college to win a national Kendo championship among commercial universities and colleges in Japan. He enrolled at Kobe College of Commerce but had to leave the university two months after enrollment due to conscription into the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. During the war, Uno was stationed in Siberia as a prisoner, an experience he later documented in a book considered a Japanese classic about his captivity.

In 1949, Uno married Chiyo Hirose, and together they had two daughters. Besides his political career, Uno was also an accomplished writer, publishing a book about his experiences as a prisoner of war in Siberia, as well as collections of Haiku poems, and engaging in painting, poetry, and music.

He entered politics in 1960, winning election to the Japanese National Diet. Over the years, he held various government positions, including Vice-Minister at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Director General of the Japan Defense Agency briefly in 1974, and roles within the Science and Technology Agency and the Administrative Management Agency. He also served as Japan's Minister for Trade and Industry and as Foreign Minister from 1987 to 1989.

Uno's political prominence peaked after the Recruit scandal, which implicated numerous members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Uno was notably the only representative not involved in the scandal and was entrusted with leadership of the party and government during a period of political crisis. On 3 June 1989, he was appointed Prime Minister of Japan.

Uno's tenure as Prime Minister lasted only 68 days, ending on 10 August 1989. His resignation was prompted by a scandal involving an affair with geisha Mitsuko Nakanishi, who publicly accused him of misconduct and financial improprieties regarding her support during their four-month relationship in 1986. The affair received widespread media attention and became an international issue, especially after coverage by The Washington Post. Nakanishi faced criticism from her community and eventually left the geisha profession. The controversy also included public debates over the cultural norms of geisha and the behavior of politicians.

Uno's public image was further affected by allegations that he had misrepresented his financial dealings in the Japanese Diet, and by the outspoken nature of Nakanishi, who made public political and economic remarks. To avoid further scandal, he resigned as Prime Minister but continued serving in government until his retirement in 1996.

In recognition of his service, Uno was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers on 29 April 1994, the highest civilian honor in Japan. He retired to Moriyama, where he lived until his death from lung cancer at age 75 in 1998.

In addition to his political career, Uno was known for his writings, including two collections of Haiku, his Siberian prisoner memoir, and his involvement in painting, poetry, and music. His wartime experiences, political career, and the scandal that led to his brief tenure as Prime Minister remain notable aspects of his life story.