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Ex-LDP upper house heavyweight Mikio Aoki dies at 89

Photo taken in April 2000 shows then Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Mikio Aoki speaking at a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo as chief Cabinet secretary. Aoki, who was elected to the House of Councillors a total of four times from 1986 onwards before retiring from politics in 2010, died on June 11, 2023 at age 89.

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Ex-LDP upper house heavyweight Mikio Aoki dies at 89

Former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Mikio Aoki, known to have held strong influence while head of the party's caucus in the House of Councillors, is pictured in January 2000 in Tokyo. Aoki, who was elected to the upper house a total of four times from 1986 onwards before retiring from politics in 2010, died on June 11, 2023 at age 89.

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Aoki resigns as LDP upper house chief

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councillors caucus, emerges from a meeting of LDP executives at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Aug. 1. Aoki later resigned from the post to take responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in the upper house election on July 29.

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LDP bigwig Aoki won't run in upper house election, may retire

TOKYO, Japan - Veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mikio Aoki (file photo) has told executives of the main opposition party's Shimane prefectural chapter that he does not intend to run in the prefectural district of the House of Councillors election this summer due to poor health, a senior chapter member said on May 15, 2010. Regarded as an influential member of the upper house during the LDP's long rule, Aoki served as chief Cabinet secretary from 1999 to 2000 in the governments of prime ministers Keizo Obuchi and Yoshiro Mori.

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LDP bigwig Aoki won't run in upper house election, may retire

MATSUE, Japan - Kazuhiko Aoki, the eldest son and secretary of veteran Liberal Democratic Party upper house member Mikio Aoki, speaks about his father's intention not to run in the House of Councillors election this summer due to poor health in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, on May 15, 2010. Regarded as an influential member of the upper house during the LDP's long rule, Mikio Aoki served as chief Cabinet secretary from 1999 to 2000 in the governments of prime ministers Keizo Obuchi and Yoshiro Mori.

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Ex-farm minister quits as lawmaker for manipulating voting

TOKYO, Japan - Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi leaves a news conference at the Diet in Tokyo on April 2, 2010, after speaking about his resignation from the House of Councillors. Wakabayashi, of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has been under fire for pressing the voting button for fellow lawmaker Mikio Aoki, who was absent from a house plenary vote to approve the budget for public broadcaster NHK.

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Ex-farm minister quits as lawmaker for manipulating voting

TOKYO, Japan - Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi speaks at a news conference at the Diet in Tokyo on April 2, 2010, after resigning from the House of Councillors to take the blame for manipulating a parliamentary vote. Wakabayashi, of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has been under fire for pressing the voting button for fellow lawmaker Mikio Aoki, who was absent from a house plenary vote to approve the budget for public broadcaster NHK.

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Upper house veteran Aoki votes by himself

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, a veteran member of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, presses the voting button during a plenary session of the House of Councillors on April 2, 2010. Fellow LDP member Masatoshi Wakabayashi quit as a legislator the same day after it was revealed he had pushed Aoki's voting button during votes on 10 bills when Aoki was absent from the chamber.

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Ex-farm minister quits as lawmaker for manipulating voting

TOKYO, Japan - Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi speaks at a news conference at the Diet in Tokyo on April 2, 2010, after resigning from the House of Councillors to take the blame for manipulating a parliamentary vote. Wakabayashi, of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has been under fire for pressing the voting button for fellow lawmaker Mikio Aoki, who was absent from a house plenary vote to approve the budget for public broadcaster NHK.

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Ex-farm minister Wakabayashi offers to quit as lawmaker

TOKYO, Japan - Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi speaks to reporters at the Diet building in Tokyo on April 2, 2010, after submitting to House of Councillors President Satsuki Eda a letter of resignation as a lawmaker. Wakabayashi, of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has been under fire for pressing the voting button for fellow lawmaker Mikio Aoki, who was absent from a house plenary vote to approve the budget for public broadcaster NHK.

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Ex-farm minister Wakabayashi offers to quit as lawmaker

TOKYO, Japan - Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi speaks to reporters at the Diet building in Tokyo on April 2, 2010, after submitting to House of Councillors President Satsuki Eda a letter of resignation as a lawmaker. Wakabayashi, of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has been under fire for pressing the voting button for fellow lawmaker Mikio Aoki, who was absent from a house plenary vote to approve the budget for public broadcaster NHK.

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LDP upper house veteran Aoki to seek reelection

MATSUE, Japan - Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Mikio Aoki speaks about his intention to seek reelection to the House of Councillors this summer at a news conference on Jan. 18, 2010, in Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture where he has been elected four times to a six-year term.

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LDP upper house caucus chief Aoki suggests he may step down

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councillors caucus, speaks about the day's upper house election results in a television program at the LDP's headquarters in Tokyo on July 29.

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LDP wins 1st by-elections under Abe

TOKYO, Japan - Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa (L) and Mikio Aoki (R), leader of the LDP caucus in the House of Councillors, put red roses to the photos of Kenji Harada and Zentaro Kamei, who won House of Representatives seats in two by-elections on Oct. 22, the first electoral tests for the less-than-one-month-old administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

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Abe names new LDP executives

TOKYO, Japan - Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe (4th from L) joins hands with new party executives he named on Sept. 25 at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo. The executives (from L to R) are Acting Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara, General Council Chairman Yuya Niwa, Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, Abe, Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi Nakagawa, the party's upper house caucus leader Mikio Aoki and the caucus Secretary General Toranosuke Katayama.

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Abe agrees to keep 2 Cabinet posts for upper house lawmakers

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, leader of a caucus of Liberal Democratic Party members of the House of Councillors, speaks to reporters at the LDP's headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 22 after talks with new LDP President Shinzo Abe.

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Koizumi, Aoki agree to seek Fri. vote on postal reform bills

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi smiles as he emerges from a meeting with with Mikio Aoki, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's caucus in the House of Councillors, in the Diet on Aug. 2. The two leaders agreed to seek to have the upper house plenary session vote on a set of postal privatization bills on Aug. 5.

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Veteran Aoki promoted to head of LDP upper house caucus

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki (L), new chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councillors caucus, and Toranosuke Katayama, new secretary general of the group, speak to reporters at the Diet in Tokyo on July 26.

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(2)Opposition DPJ may outpace LDP in upper house poll

TOKYO, Japan - Shinzo Abe (L), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and Mikio Aoki, leader of the LDP caucus in the House of Councillors, chat at the LDP's headquarters in Tokyo on July 11 as they wait for the results of the upper house election.

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Yamasaki consoled by Aoki

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki (R), a heavyweight within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), consoles Taku Yamasaki, who was replaced by Shinzo Abe as party secretary general in a leadership shake-up on Sept. 21. Yamasaki was named party vice president.

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Abe thanks Aoki for backing Koizumi in LDP election

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe gives a speech at the new Tokyo headquarters of Kyodo News on Sept. 5. He thanked influential lawmaker Mikio Aoki for throwing his weight behind Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's bid to be reelected head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the party's Sept. 20 presidential election.

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Aoki backs Koizumi in LDP race

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, an influential member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its largest faction, leaves a Tokyo hotel in a car Sept. 4 after announcing his support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reelection as president of the ruling party.

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(2)Li Peng supports Shinkansen for Beijing-Shanghai rail project

BEIJING, China - Japanese Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi (L) and Mikio Aoki, senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker (C) are in talks with Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, at the People's Great Hall in Beijing on Sept. 24. Li expressed his support on Japan's Shinkansen ''bullet train'' technology in building a high-speed mass transit system linking Beijing and Shanghai.

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LDP lawmaker Koso tenders resignation to Diet

TOKYO, Japan - Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kenji Koso emerges from talks with Mikio Aoki, secretary general of the LDP's upper house bloc, in the Diet on Sept. 25. He later tendered his resignation to the Diet in connection with the arrests of postal officials suspected of illegally aiding his election campaign two months ago.

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Ruling coalition mulling Japan's support for U.S.

TOKYO, Japan - Takeshi Noda (L), leader of the New Conservative Party, Taku Yamasaki (2nd from L), secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Mikio Aoki (foreground), head of the LDP's House of Councillors members, and Tetsuzo Fuyushiba (R), secretary general of the New Komeito party, observe a moment of silence for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States before their meeting at the Diet building in Tokyo on Sept. 18. Senior members of the three ruling coalition parties met to discuss Japan's support for the U.S. fight against terrorism.

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Exit polls show likely majority for ruling bloc

TOKYO, Japan - Taku Yamasaki (L), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and Mikio Aoki, head of the party's House of Councillors members, place a flower next to the name of a party candidate certain to win in the July 29 upper house election earlier in the day. According to exit polls by Kyodo News, the tripartite ruling coalition led by the LDP will gain a comfortable majority in the 247-seat upper house.

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LDP heavyweight Murakami to quit over KSD scandal

TOKYO, Japan - Mikio Aoki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party upper house caucus, speaks to reporters Feb. 22 on resignation offered earlier in the day by LDP upper house member Masakuni Murakami. The LDP heavyweight has been under fire over his links to scandal-hit mutual aid foundation KSD.

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LDP's Nonaka, Aoki discuss ways to deal with Kato

KYOTO, Japan - Hiromu Nonaka (R), secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), discuss with former Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki how to deal with confusion within the LDP at a Kyoto hotel on Nov. 11, a day after party heavyweight Koichi Kato intensified his pressure on embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori by saying he has no plans to defend Mori in the event of a no-confidence motion.

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4,000 attend funeral for former Prime Minister Takeshita

KAKEYA, Japan - About 4,000 people, including Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley and former South Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil, attend a funeral for former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita at a Kakeya municipal gymnasium in his hometown of Kakeya, Shimane Prefecture, on July 29. Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki, who chairs the funeral committee for Takeshita, said in a memorial address, weeping, ''He returned to dust in Shimane at last.''

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Nakagawa succeeds Aoki as chief cabinet secretary

TOKYO, Japan - New Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa (R) shakes hands with his predecessor Mikio Aoki at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on July 6 after taking over from Aoki.

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Aoki carries emperor's dissolution rescript

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki carries a rescript signed by Emperor Akihito on June 2. The House of Representatives was dissolved for a general election when the rescript was read out loud by House Speaker Soichiro Ito.

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Mori dissolves lower house for June 25 election

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (far R) stands, along with other cabinet members, in the House of Representatives on June 2. He dissolved the lower house the same day for a June 25 general election. Standing next to him are (from L to R) Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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DPJ files criminal complaint against Aoki

TOKYO, Japan - Naoto Kan (C), policy chief of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), and Satsuki Eda (R), a DPJ member of the House of Councillors, speak at a news conference May 19 after filing a criminal complaint against Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki, alleging he illegally assumed the post of acting premier after then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke.

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Japan's EPA slightly upgrades economic assessment

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) sits with (from L to R) Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on May 12 to read an EPA monthly report for May. The EPA slightly upgraded its assessment of the domestic economy, saying it is continuing to improve moderately, due largely to boosted corporate activities.

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Former Prime Minister Takeshita to retire

TOKYO, Japan - Former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita will retire from politics at the end of his current term in the House of Representatives, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki (2nd from R) announces at Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters in Tokyo on May 1. Since April, leaders of the LDP's Obuchi faction and Takeshita have discussed whether Takeshita, one of Japan's most influential politicians, should run in the upcoming general election. Takeshita has been hospitalized for more than a year.

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Top spokesman heads list for acting premier

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (C) and his cabinet members decide April 14 to designate Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki (1) as acting premier in the event the premier becomes unable to carry out his duties. Mori said Foreign Minister Yohei Kono (2) would be second in line for the post, followed by Construction Minister Masaaki Nakayama (3), International Trade and Industry Minister Takashi Fukaya (4) and Defense Agency Chief Tsutomu Kawara (5). The arrangement stands only for Mori's cabinet. Successive prime ministers will draw up their own list when they launch their cabinets.

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EPA monthly report announced

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers April 14 to work on the Economic Planning Agency's monthly economic report for April. The report said the Japanese economy is showing signs of a self-sustaining recovery. Seated from left to right are EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Aoki announces resignation of Prime Minister Obuchi's cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki announces on April 4 the resignation of the cabinet of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who is in a coma after suffering a massive stroke on April 2.

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Acting PM Aoki visits Obuchi's hospital

TOKYO, Japan - Acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki (in front car) on April 4 visits Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital, where Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has been since suffering a stroke April 2. Obuchi remains in a coma and breathing only with the help of a respirator in the hospital's intensive care unit.

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Obuchi still in coma

TOKYO, Japan - Acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki tells reporters April 4 that Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who suffered a stroke April 2, remains in a coma and hooked up to a respirator at Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital. The premier's condition ''remains unchanged since I reported it to you at 4 p.m. yesterday,'' Aoki said. He also said the cabinet will resign en masse in a day or two to avoid a political vacuum.

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Aoki named acting premier

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki tells reporters April 3 that the government has appointed him acting premier following Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's sudden hospitalization April 2 due to a stroke. The hospitalization of the 62-year-old Obuchi at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo is likely to be prolonged, Aoki said.

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Obuchi in coma, resignation unavoidable

TOKYO, Japan - Acting Prime Minister Mikio Aoki speaks on Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's condition at a news conference on the afternoon of April 3. Aoki said Obuchi is in a coma and on an artificial respirator in an intensive care unit and will likely have to step down.

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Aoki says Premier Obuchi in hospital from overwork

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki is surrounded by reporters after a late-night press conference April 2 in which he said Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was hospitalized early in the day due to overwork. The top government spokesman said the premier was taken to a hospital in Tokyo around 1 a.m. and was undergoing tests.

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Japan lifts sanctions on N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki announces in Tokyo on Dec. 14 that Japan will lift its freeze on food aid to North Korea and plans to reopen negotiations on normalizing diplomatic ties. Japan will remove the last of a series of sanctions imposed after North Korea fired a rocket over Japan in 1998.

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Japan, Jordan agree on debt scheduling

TOKYO, Japan - Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Rima Khalaf Hunaidi (L) and Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki (2nd from R), acting as foreign minister, exchange notes on debt rescheduling Dec. 2, watched by King King Abdullah II (2nd from L) and Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (R).

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Inamine meets Obuchi about heliport relocation plan

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (C) escorts Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine (R) at the premier's official residence Nov. 25 to a meeting room to discuss the Okinawa prefectural government's plan to relocate the heliport functions of a U.S. military base in central Okinawa to Nago in northern Okinawa. At left is Mikio Aoki, chief cabinet secretary and chief of the Okinawa Development Agency.

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Japan confirms release of 4 Japanese hostages

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki announces on Oct. 25 that the Japanese government has confirmed the release of all four Japanese nationals captured by Islamic rebels in August in Kyrgyzstan. ''We have confirmed that they are all safe,'' Aoki told reporters at the prime minister's official residence. He denied the possibility that Japan paid ransom for the hostages' release.

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Aoki visits U.S. Futemma Air Station in Okinawa

GINOWAN, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki (C) visits the U.S. Futemma Air Station in Ginowan, central Okinawa, on Oct. 23 to take a firsthand look at the air station. Aoki also serves as director general of the Okinawa Development Agency.

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Nonaka leaves premier's residence

TOKYO, Japan - Hiromu Nonaka, former chief cabinet secretary, bids farewell to employees at Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's official residence on Oct. 7. Obuchi did not reappoint Nonaka in the Oct. 5 cabinet reshuffle after accepting his request to step down as top government spokesman. Mikio Aoki, secretary general of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers in the House of Councillors, succeeded Nonaka.

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Koizumi, Aoki agree to seek Fri. vote on postal reform bills

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi smiles as he emerges from a meeting with with Mikio Aoki, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's caucus in the House of Councillors, in the Diet on Aug. 2. The two leaders agreed to seek to have the upper house plenary session vote on a set of postal privatization bills on Aug. 5. (Kyodo)