was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party out of which he split his faction into the Party for Japanese Kokoro, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. Ishihara was criticized for his misogynistic comments, his xenophobic views and his racist remarks against Chinese and Koreans in Japan, including his use of the antiquated pejorative term "sangokujin".
A critic of relations between Japan and the United States, his artistic accomplishments included his authorship of a prize-winning novel, his authorship of best-sellers, and his work in theater, film, and journalism. His 1989 book, The Japan That Can Say No, co-authored with Sony chairman Akio Morita (published in English in 1991), called on the authors' countrymen to stand up to America.
After an early career as a writer and a film director, Ishihara served as in the House of Councillors from 1968 to 1972, then he served as in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1995, just four years before he served as Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. He resigned from the governorship to briefly co-lead the Sunrise Party, before he joined the Japan Restoration Party upon his return to the House of Representatives in the 2012 general election.. Japan Times. 16 December 2012 He unsuccessfully sought re-election in the general election of November 2014, and officially left politics the following month.
In October 2021, Ishihara was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while his wife, Noriko had ruptured aortic aneurysm, and given only three months to live amid a routine physical exam. Ishihara died from its complications on 1 February 2022, at the age of 89.
Early life and artistic career
Shintaro Ishihara was born on 30 September 1932 in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father, Kiyoshi Ishihara (1899–1951), an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company, and his mother, Mitsuko Ishihara (1907–1992), a daughter of Sannosuke Kato from Hiroshima. He grew up in Zushi, Kanagawa, parts of Greater Tokyo Area. In 1952, Ishihara entered Hitotsubashi University, and he graduated in 1956. Just two months before graduation, Ishihara won the Akutagawa Prize (Japan's most prestigious literary prize) for the novel Season of the Sun. His brother Yujiro played a supporting role in the movie adaptation of the novel (for which Shintaro wrote the screenplay). Ishihara had dabbled in directing a couple of films starring his brother. Regarding these early years as a filmmaker, he said to a Playboy Magazine interviewer in 1990 that "If I had remained a movie director, I can assure you that I would have at least become a better one than Akira Kurosawa".Playboy, Vol. 37, No. 10, p. 76.Stonefish, Isaac (1 November 2013) The Man Who Would Be Warlord. Foreign Policy.
In the early 1960s, he concentrated on writing, including plays, novels, and a musical version of Treasure Island. One of his later novels, Lost Country (1982), speculated about Japan under the control of the Soviet Union.Larimer, Tim (24 April 2000) "Rabble Rouser" , TIME Asia. He also ran a theatre company, and found time to visit the North Pole, race his yacht The Contessa and cross South America on a motorcycle. He wrote a memoir of his journey, Nanbei Odan Ichiman Kiro.
From 1966 to 1967, he covered the Vietnam War at the request of Yomiuri Shimbun, and the experience influenced his decision to enter politics., accessed 22 December 2010. He also was mentored by the influential author and political "fixer" Tsûsai Sugawara.
Political career In 1968, Ishihara ran as a candidate on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) national slate for the House of Councillors. He placed first on the LDP list with an unprecedented 3 million votes.Emmerson, John J., Arms, Yen & Power: The Japanese Dilemma, (Tokyo: C.E. Tuttle, 1971), p. 339. After four years in the upper house, Ishihara ran for the House of Representatives representing the second district of Tokyo, and again won election.
In 1973, he joined with thirty other LDP lawmakers in the anti-communist Seirankai or "Blue Storm Group"; the group gained notoriety for sealing a pledge of unity in their own blood.
Ishihara ran for Governor of Tokyo in 1975 but lost to the popular Socialist incumbent Ryokichi Minobe. Minobe was 71 at the time, and Ishihara criticized him as being "too old".
Ishihara returned to the House of Representatives afterward, and worked his way up the party's internal ladder, serving as Director-General of the Environment Agency under Takeo Fukuda (1976) and Minister of Transport under Noboru Takeshita (1989). During the 1980s, Ishihara was a highly visible and popular LDP figure, but was unable to win enough internal support to form a true faction and move up the national political ladder."'There's No Need For an Apology': Tokyo's boisterous governor is back in the headlines ," TIME Asia, 24 April 2000. In 1983, his campaign manager put up stickers throughout Tokyo stating that Ishihara's political opponent was an defector from North Korea. Ishihara denied that this was discrimination, saying that the public had a right to know.河信基 『代議士の自決ー新井将敬の真実』（河信基・三一書房）
In 1989, shortly after losing a highly contested race for the party presidency, Ishihara came to the attention of the West through his book The Japan That Can Say No, co-authored with Sony chairman Akio Morita. The book called on his fellow countrymen to stand up to America.
Governor of Tokyo
In the 1999 Tokyo gubernatorial election, he ran on an independent platform and was elected as Governor of Tokyo. Among Ishihara's moves as governor, he: Cut metropolitan spending projects, including plans for a new Toei Subway line, and proposed the sale or leasing out of many metropolitan facilities. Imposed a new tax on banks' gross profits (rather than net profits).DeWit, Andrew, and Masaru Kaneko, "Ishihara and the Politics of His Bank Tax" , JPRI Critique 9:4, May 2002. Imposed a new hotel tax based on occupancy. Imposed restrictions on the operation of diesel-powered vehicles, following a highly publicized event where he held up a bottle of diesel soot before cameras and reporters., Reuters, 3 March 2006. Imposed cap and trade energy tax.Carbon Trades of Up to $212 Billion Opposed by Japan, South Korea Firms, Bloomberg, 13 January 2011. Proposed opening casinos in the Odaiba district. Declared in 2005 that Tokyo would bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, which discouraged a bid by Fukuoka."Tokyo governor suggests bid for 2016 Olympics ," Daily Times, 6 August 2005. Tokyo's bid lost to that of Rio de Janeiro. Set up the ShinGinko Tokyo bank to lend to SMEs (small medium enterprises) in Tokyo. The project came under criticism- according to The Times, the bank had lost approximately 1 billion dollars' worth of taxpayers' money through inadequate customer risk assessments., Times Online, 13 August 2007. Served as Chairman of Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. Generated controversy from PETA for the culling of the 37,000 crows that populated Tokyo., First Regular Session of the Metropolitan Assembly, 2002. metro.tokyo.jp
He won re-election in 2003 with 70.2% of the vote, and re-election in 2007 with 50.52% of the vote. In the 2011 gubernatorial election, his share of the vote dipped to 43.4% against challenges by comedian Hideo Higashikokubaru and entrepreneur Miki Watanabe.
On 25 October 2012, Ishihara announced he would resign as Governor of Tokyo to form a new political party in preparation for upcoming national elections. Following his announcement, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly approved his resignation on 31 October 2012, officially ending his tenure as Governor of Tokyo for 4,941 days, the second-longest term after Shunichi Suzuki.
Sunrise Party Ishihara's new national party was expected to be formed with members of the right-wing Sunrise Party of Japan, which he had helped to set up in 2010.Nagata, Kazuaki, "Ishihara leaves office with sights on Diet seat", The Japan Times, 1 November 2012. When announced by co-leaders Ishihara and SPJ chief Takeo Hiranuma on 13 November 2012, Sunrise Party incorporated all five members of SPJ. SP would look to form a coalition with other small parties including Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai).Aoki, Mizuho (14 November 2012) "Ishihara, Hiranuma unveil new party", The Japan Times.
In November 2012, Ishihara and his co-leader Hiranuma said that the Sunrise Party would pursue "establishment of an independent Constitution, beefing up of Japan's defense capabilities, and fundamental reform of fiscal management and tax systems to make them more transparent". The future of nuclear power and the upcoming consumption tax hike were issues it would have to address with potential coalition partners.
Sunrise Party merger with the Japan Restoration Party Only four days after the Sunrise Party was launched, on 17 November 2012, Ishihara and Tōru Hashimoto, leader of the Japan Restoration Party (JRP), decided to merge their parties, with Ishihara becoming the head of the JRP. Your Party would not join the party, nor would Genzei Nippon, as the latter party's anti-consumption tax increase policy did not match the JRP's pro-consumption tax policy.New parties merge forces / Taiyo no To dissolves to join Ishin no Kai; Ishihara named chief. Daily Yomiuri. 18 November 2012
Reporting on a poll in early December 2012, Asahi Shimbun characterized the merger with Japan Restoration Party as the latter having "swallowed up" Sunrise. The poll, in advance of the 16 December Lower House elections, also said the association with SP could hurt JRP's chances of forming a ruling coalition even though JRP was showing strength relative to the ruling DPJ.Matsumura, Ai (4 December 2012) "Survey: DPJ snubbed, Japan Restoration Party favored as coalition partner" . Asahi Shimbun.
Party for Future Generations In December 2014 general elections, he was a candidate for the Party for Future Generations, an extreme right-wing party, but he was defeated. Following this, he retired from politics.
Political views
Ishihara is generally described as having been one of Japan's most prominent extreme right-wing politicians. He was called "Japan's [Jean-Marie] Le Pen" on a program broadcast on Australia's ABC. He was affiliated with the openly ultranationalist organization Nippon Kaigi.
Foreign relations Ishihara was a long-term friend of the prominent Aquino family in the Philippines. He is credited with being the first person to inform future President Corazon Aquino about the assassination of her husband Ninoy Aquino, a former senator and exiled critic of Ferdinand Marcos, on 21 August 1983."24 hours that changed Philippine history." Philippine Daily Inquirer, 21 August 2013. Accessed 28 August 2021. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/470559/24-hours-that-changed-philippine-history.
Ishihara was often critical of Japan's foreign policy as being non-assertive. Regarding Japan's relationship with the U.S., he stated that "The country I dislike most in terms of U.S.–Japan ties is Japan, because it's a country that can't assert itself." As part of the criticism, Ishihara published a book co-authored with the then Prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, titled "No" to ieru Ajia – tai Oubei e no hōsaku in 1994.
Ishihara was also long critical of the communist government of the People's Republic of China. He invited the Dalai Lama and the President of Taiwan Lee Teng-hui to Tokyo.