Yasuo Fukuda, former Japanese prime minister, passes away at 90

Yasuo Fukuda, the former Japanese prime minister who worked to strengthen relations with regional neighbours, has died at the age of 90, according to Japanese media reports.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday that Fukuda passed away on October 22 due to heart failure. He made history in Japan as the first son of a former premier to hold the country's highest political office.

Fukuda assumed the premiership in 2007 following the abrupt departure of Shinzo Abe during Abe's first administration. His leadership was short-lived, concluding with his resignation in 2008 after less than twelve months in power. His time at the helm was even shorter than that of his father, Takeo Fukuda, who served as prime minister for two years in the late 1970s.

During his brief administration, Fukuda struggled against a split parliament where opposition lawmakers used their leverage to stall government legislation. He famously quipped upon taking the role that he may have drawn an unlucky assignment. Frustrations over the legislative gridlock eventually prompted him to step down, making him the second in a sequence of six Japanese leaders who resigned after serving roughly a year.

Throughout his political life and after leaving office, Fukuda was regarded as a diplomatic dove. He focused heavily on repairing and stabilizing ties with nearby Asian nations, travelling to China on multiple occasions to foster cooperation despite recurring diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Before embarking on his own political career, Fukuda completed an economics degree at Waseda University and spent nearly two decades working for an oil firm, which included a two-year assignment in the United States. He stepped away from the corporate world in 1976 to act as a political aide after his father became prime minister.

Fukuda was first elected to the lower house of the Diet in 1990. He later served as chief cabinet secretary between 2000 and 2004, a post he relinquished after acknowledging alongside several other ministers that he had missed mandatory national pension payments. His public career was also marked by controversy, including widespread criticism over off-the-record remarks he made in 2003 regarding sexual assault.

His son, Tatsuo Fukuda, is an active lawmaker in Japan and has been considered by political observers as a prospective future candidate for prime minister.