Former Lower House Speaker Watanuki dies at 99
Watanuki died of old age at a Tokyo medical institution last Tuesday.
Former Lower House Speaker Tamisuke Watanuki passed away at the age of 99 due to old age. Born in Toyama Prefecture, Watanuki entered parliament for the first time in the 1969 Lower House election as a candidate from the Liberal Democratic Party. He maintained his seat in 13 consecutive elections. Watanuki served in various Cabinet positions, including as the director-general of the National Land Agency and construction minister.
He also held the role of LDP secretary-general. From 2000 to 2003, he served as the Lower House speaker. In 2005, Watanuki engaged in a significant dispute with then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over the privatization of postal services. As a leader of the LDP faction opposed to the privatization, he voted against the bill. Following Koizumi's decision to dissolve the Lower House, Watanuki faced expulsion from the party.
He then founded the People's New Party with anti-postal privatization lawmakers and served as its inaugural leader. After losing his seat in the 2009 Lower House election, Watanuki eventually rejoined the LDP, becoming the first expelled lawmaker to return to the party. Born into a family of Shinto priests at Inami Hachimangu Shrine in Toyama, Watanuki also served as chief priest of the historic shrine. Known as "Tami-san," he cultivated a vast network within the political realm.
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