Controversial Remarks on Comfort Women: Former Tokyo Governor and Japanese Far-Right Figure Ishihara Shintaro Passes Away

Death from Pancreatic Cancer at Tokyo Residence
"Comfort Women Were Brokers, Not the State"
Contributed to Japan's Far-Right Shift with Racist and Sexist Remarks

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Shintaro Ishihara, the former Governor of Tokyo and a symbol of Japanese far-right conservative politicians, passed away on the 1st.

According to Kyodo News and others on the 1st, Shintaro Ishihara died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Tokyo that morning.

Born in Kobe, he first gained recognition in 1956 while attending Hitotsubashi University by winning the Akutagawa Prize for his novel "Season of the Sun."

While continuing his writing career, he entered politics by winning a seat in the House of Councillors (upper house) in the 1968 election as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Four years later, he switched to the House of Representatives (lower house), serving a total of nine terms. Known as a representative politician of Japan's far-right forces, he served as Minister of the Environment and Minister of Transport, and was a key member of the LDP's broad factional policy group called "Seirankai."

In 1999, he ran for Governor of Tokyo and took charge of the administration of Japan's capital. During his tenure, he actively promoted Tokyo's bid to host the Olympics, and in April 2012, while visiting the United States, he expressed Tokyo's intention to purchase the Senkaku Islands, which triggered heightened tensions between Japan and China.

During his more than 13 years as Governor of Tokyo, he was criticized for leading Japan's conservative right-wing shift by repeatedly making racially and sexually discriminatory remarks and advocating conservative arguments such as Japan's remilitarization. At a time when hardline stances against North Korea were rising due to missile launches, he did not hesitate to call for Japan's nuclear armament. In April 2004, he emphasized the need for Self-Defense Forces deployment, claiming that "violent crimes by foreign residents in Japan continue, raising concerns about riots in the event of an earthquake."

In October 2012, during his fourth term, he suddenly resigned as governor and in November of the same year formed a new party called the "Party of the Sun," allying with Toru Hashimoto, then mayor of Osaka and leader of the Japan Restoration Party, to return to national politics through the House of Representatives election. However, he retired from politics after losing the proportional representation seat in the December 2014 House of Representatives election.

He also made numerous controversial remarks related to Korea. In June 2013, during a street speech in Tokyo, he claimed, "It was merchants who arranged comfort women, but the Kono Statement said the state was responsible." In a press conference in March 2014, he asserted that Japan's colonization of Korea was for self-defense.

At his retirement press conference, he said, "I want to speak and do what I want until I die, even if I am hated," and expressed regret that "not a single word of the constitution has been changed" during his political career.

After retirement, he actively continued writing and lecturing. He published "Genius," a work written in the first person about the life of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, whom he had sharply criticized, which became a bestseller in 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.