Fumitake Kishida

Fumitate Kishida (August 19, 1926 – August 4, 1992) was a Japanese bureaucrat in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and a politician. His father was Masaki Kishida, a former member of the House of Representatives from the Liberal Party, and his younger brother was Shunsuke Kishida, chairman and advisor of Hiroshima Bank. His wife was the second daughter of Ryoji Iguchi, former president of Nitto Seifun. His child includes his eldest son Fumio Kishida, who is a member of the House of Representatives and has served as the 27th President of the Liberal Democratic Party as well as the 100th and 101st Prime Minister of Japan. He was affiliated with the Koueitokai faction.

【Biography】

He was born in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1945, he graduated from the former Tokyo High School (now affiliated with the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Education) and then entered Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo). However, due to the impact of the war, he was unable to focus on his studies and was engaged in daily labor mobilization and student mobilization efforts, enrolling in a division in Asahikawa. The following month, Hiroshima was bombed with an atomic bomb, and his family home was damaged, losing many acquaintances. During his studies, he passed the Senior Civil Service Examination and graduated in 1948 from the Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science at Tokyo University.

【Career as a Bureaucrat】

In 1949, he joined the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). Among those who joined the same year were Toshihiko Yano, Naohiro Amaya, Toyo Osada, Hisao Kanamori, and Zenji Kumagai. He was assigned to the Textile Bureau and later served as the head of the Accounting Division of the Minister’s Secretariat and the director of the Public Interest Division of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. In 1974, he became Director of the Trade Bureau, and in 1976, he was appointed Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. He retired in 1978.

【As a Politician】

He was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 35th general election in 1979 and was subsequently re-elected five times. His activities spanned many areas; he served as a member or director of the Appropriate Authorities Committee, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee, Science and Technology Committee, Commerce and Industry Committee, Education and Culture Committee, and Special Committees on Price Issues. In March 1990, he became the Chair of the Cabinet Committee. In government, he served as the Senior Administrative Vice Minister of General Affairs in the Second Nakasone Cabinet and as the Minister of State for Education in the third Nakasone Cabinet, supporting ministers in their roles. He was also involved in education reform efforts and delivered a speech as Japan’s chief representative at the 40th International Education Conference held in Geneva in December 1986.

Within the Liberal Democratic Party, he held various positions including Director of the Urban Bureau, Vice Chairman of the Resources and Energy Policy Research Council, Vice Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprise Policy Research Council, Deputy Director of the Research Bureau, and Vice Chairman of the Administrative and Financial Policy Research Council. Starting December 1988, he served as the Director of the Party’s Finance Bureau, assisting Chief Secretaries under Presidents Toshio Taketani, Sōsuke Uno, Toshiki Kaifu, and Kiichi Miyazawa. His eldest son, Fumio Kishida, elected in the 40th House of Representatives election in 2000, was re-elected consecutively and eventually became Prime Minister.

【Death and Honors】

He passed away on August 4, 1992, in a hospital in Tokyo at the age of 65. Posthumously, he was ennobled by special decree, receiving the rank of Senior Fourth Rank (Shōshi’i) and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. Additionally, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (旭日重光章, Kyokujitsu Jūkōshō). A memorial speech was delivered by the House of Representatives during the plenary session on November 10 of the same year.