Former Japanese Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono Dies at 89
Yohei Kono, who served as speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives and issued a landmark 1993 statement on comfort women, died Monday.
Japan TimesYohei Kono, former speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, died Monday at age 89, people close to him said Wednesday. Kono was a native of Kanagawa Prefecture and a leading dove within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He championed stable ties with Japan’s neighbors, including China and South Korea.
He served as LDP president when the party was in opposition and held the posts of foreign minister and chief Cabinet secretary. In 1993, as chief Cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Kono issued a statement expressing the Japanese government’s “sincere apologies and remorse” regarding comfort women who suffered under Japan’s military brothel system before and during World War II.
Kono headed the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade.
In July 2023 he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing during a trade promotion visit. Some conservatives contend that the 1993 statement encouraged subsequent demands from South Korea over wartime issues.
