Former Lower House speaker Yohei Kono dies at 89
Yohei Kono, a former speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, died on Monday at the age of 89, people close to him said Wednesday.Kono issued a landmark statement in 1993 on “comfort women” — women who suffered under Japan’s military brothel system before and during World War II.A native of Kanagawa Prefecture, he was a leading dove within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and championed stable ties with neighbors of Japan, including China and South Korea.He also served as LDP president when the party was an opposition party, and as foreign minister.As chief Cabinet secretary in 1993 under the administration of then-Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Kono issued the landmark statement, which expressed the Japanese government’s “sincere apologies and remorse” after the issue of comfort women emerged as a major diplomatic and political challenge.Some conservatives contend that the statement encouraged subsequent demands from South Korea over wartime issues.
