Tarō Asō facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tarō Asō
麻生 太郎
Official portrait, 2017
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 24 September 2008 – 16 September 2009
Monarch	Akihito
Preceded by	Yasuo Fukuda
Succeeded by	Yukio Hatoyama
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
In office 22 September 2008 – 28 September 2009
Secretary-General	Hiroyuki Hosoda
Preceded by	Yasuo Fukuda
Succeeded by	Sadakazu Tanigaki
Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party
In office 8 October 2021 – 27 September 2024
President	Fumio Kishida
Secretary-General	Akira Amari Toshimitsu Motegi
Preceded by	Masahiko Kōmura
Succeeded by	Yoshihide Suga
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan
In office 26 December 2012 – 4 October 2021
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe Yoshihide Suga
Preceded by	Katsuya Okada
Succeeded by	Vacant
Minister of Finance
In office 26 December 2012 – 4 October 2021
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe Yoshihide Suga
Preceded by	Koriki Jojima
Succeeded by	Shun'ichi Suzuki
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 31 October 2005 – 27 August 2007
Prime Minister	Junichiro Koizumi Shinzo Abe
Preceded by	Nobutaka Machimura
Succeeded by	Nobutaka Machimura
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
In office 22 September 2003 – 31 October 2005
Prime Minister	Junichiro Koizumi
Preceded by	Toranosuke Katayama
Succeeded by	Heizō Takenaka
Member of the House of Representatives from Fukuoka
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 July 1986
Preceded by	Shinnen Tagaya
Constituency	2nd district (1986–1996) 8th district (1996–present)
In office 7 October 1979 – 28 November 1983
Preceded by	Asao Mihara
Succeeded by	Toshio Ohashi
Constituency	2nd district
Personal details
Born	(1940-09-20) 20 September 1940 (age 84) Iizuka, Fukuoka, Empire of Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic (Shikōkai)
Spouse	Chikako Suzuki [ja] ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2
Relatives	Shigeru Yoshida (grandfather) Nobuko, Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (sister) Princess Akiko (niece) Princess Yōko (niece) Ken'ichi Yoshida (uncle) Zenkō Suzuki (father-in-law) Shun'ichi Suzuki (brother-in-law)
Education	Gakushuin University Stanford University (dropped out) London School of Economics

Tarō Asō (麻生 太郎, Asō Tarō, born 20 September 1940) is a Japanese politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He also held important roles like Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving person in these roles in Japan's history. Before that, he was Minister for Foreign Affairs (2005-2007) and Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications (2003-2005).

Asō was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1979. He held many government jobs before becoming the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2008. He became the leader of the LDP and Prime Minister in September 2008. The LDP lost the election in 2009, and Asō resigned as party president. When the LDP returned to power in 2012, Asō became Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. He kept these jobs when Yoshihide Suga became Prime Minister in 2020. After leaving the cabinet, he became the Vice President of the LDP. He is known as an important leader within his party.

Family and Early Life

Tarō Asō was born on September 20, 1940, in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture. His family was a very important business family in Kyushu, Japan. His great-grandfather, Takichi Asō, started a successful coal mining business. Tarō Asō's mother, Kazuko, was the daughter of Shigeru Yoshida. Yoshida was a famous diplomat who later became Prime Minister of Japan.

Asō went to Gakushuin school in Tokyo, which was a traditional school for children from important families. He finished Gakushuin University in 1963. He then studied at Stanford University in California but left early. His grandfather wanted him to study in Britain, so he went to the London School of Economics.

Business Career and Sports

After his studies, Asō joined the Aso Industry Company in 1966. He lived in Brazil for some time in the 1960s and learned to speak Portuguese very well.

From 1970 to 1972, Asō worked in the diamond mining business in Sierra Leone. He had to return to Japan because of unrest in the country.

Asō was the president of the Aso Mining Company from 1973 to 1979. He was also a member of Japan's shooting team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In 1978, he was the President of the Japan Junior Chamber.

Political Career

Starting in Politics

Asō was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1979 election. He ran as a candidate for the LDP party. When he became a politician, his brother Yutaka took over the family business.

In December 1983, Asō married Chikako Suzuki. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki.

Becoming a Cabinet Minister

Asō got his first job in the government cabinet in November 1996. He became the Minister of State and Director General of the Economic Planning Agency. He served in this role until September 1997.

In 2003, he joined the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He became the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. On October 31, 2005, he became the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Running for LDP Leader

Asō was one of the main candidates to become Prime Minister after Koizumi in 2006. However, he lost the election within his party to Shinzo Abe. Both Asō and Abe had similar views on foreign policy.

Asō ran again for the LDP leadership in 2007 but lost to Yasuo Fukuda. He said he wanted to run to make sure there was a fair election. On August 1, 2008, Fukuda made Asō the Secretary-General of the LDP. This made Asō the second most powerful person in the party.

Serving as Prime Minister

Official portrait as Prime Minister, 2008

On September 1, 2008, Prime Minister Fukuda suddenly announced he was resigning. Five LDP members, including Asō, ran to become the new party leader. Asō won the election on September 22, 2008. He received 351 out of 525 votes.

Two days later, on September 24, Asō was chosen by the Japanese Parliament (Diet) to be Prime Minister. The Emperor officially appointed him that night. Asō said that these were "turbulent times" because of the financial situation.

Tarō Asō meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on 18 February 2009.

Tarō Asō meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in the White House on 14 November 2008.

Tarō Asō meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House on 24 February 2009.

Tarō Asō meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Tokyo on 12 May 2009.

As Prime Minister, Asō announced his new cabinet. Five members had never been in the cabinet before. One of them, 34-year-old Yūko Obuchi, was the youngest cabinet member in Japan's history after World War II.

In February 2009, Prime Minister Asō traveled to Washington to meet with United States President Barack Obama. He was the first foreign leader to visit the Obama White House. This showed that Japan was still an important ally for the United States.

After becoming Prime Minister, many expected Asō to call for a new general election. However, he said the government needed to focus on the economic crisis. He finally announced a general election for August 30, 2009. The LDP lost the election by a large amount to the Democratic Party of Japan. This was one of the biggest defeats for a ruling party in modern Japanese history. Asō immediately resigned as LDP president.

After Being Prime Minister

When Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister again in December 2012, Asō was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He was the first former Japanese Prime Minister to later serve as Deputy Prime Minister. After Shinzo Abe resigned in August 2020, Asō kept his positions under the new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga.

In September 2021, when Suga resigned, Fumio Kishida became the new Prime Minister. Asō then became the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party. In October 2021, Asō moved to the role of Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party. In July 2024, he became a Senior Advisor to the party.

Personal Life

Asō is married to Chikako Suzuki. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki. They married in 1983 and have two children, Masahiro and Ayako. Asō is also the older brother of Nobuko, Princess Tomohito of Mikasa. This makes him the uncle of Princess Akiko of Mikasa and Princess Yōko of Mikasa.

Love for Manga

Asō believes that Japanese pop culture, like manga, can help Japan connect with other countries. He hopes manga can be a "bridge to the world."

Asō has been a big fan of manga since he was a child. He used to have his family send him manga magazines when he was studying in college. In 2003, he said he read about 10 to 20 manga magazines every week. In 2007, when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs, he started the International Manga Award. This award is for manga artists who are not Japanese.

It was reported that he was seen reading the manga Rozen Maiden at Tokyo International Airport. This led to him being called "His Excellency Rozen." He has also said he is a fan of Golgo 13, a long-running manga about an assassin.

Images for kids

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  Tarō Asō shakes hands with then Secretary of State of U.S. Condoleezza Rice at APEC summit in 2005

Honours

•  Brazil :
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross (2 December 2020)
•  Peru :
  • Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru (2008)

Election History

See also

In Spanish: Tarō Asō para niños