Yasuo Fukuda, Japan’s prime minister from 2007 to 2008 and a longtime advocate of closer ties with China, has died at the age of 90, the governing Liberal Democratic Party said on October 26, 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • Fukuda led Japan for one year, facing a divided parliament.
  • After retiring from politics in 2012, he continued working to improve Japan-China relations.

Yasuo Fukuda’s political career

The Liberal Democratic Party said Fukuda died on October 22 but did not disclose further details.

Born in 1936 in Gunma, northwest of Tokyo, Fukuda was the son of former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. After graduating from Waseda University, he worked for a Japanese oil company for more than 17 years before entering politics.

He was elected to parliament in 1990 and became chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in 2000. As prime minister, he struggled to manage a parliament in which his party held a majority in only one of the two houses.

A focus on relations with China

During his premiership, Fukuda developed stable ties with China’s Hu Jintao. After retiring, he worked to improve relations during a period of tension over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

In 2014, Fukuda visited China for talks with President Xi Jinping, seeking a thaw in relations ahead of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to meet Xi. He also regularly led political delegations to China and other Asian countries.

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