Politics and Power in 20th-Century Japan: The Reminiscences of Miyazawa Kiichi

Timothy S. George is Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island, USA.Mikuriya Takashi is Professor at the Open University of Japan.Nakamura Takafusa was a professor at Tokyo University, Ochanomizu Women's University and Toyo Eiwa University, Japan.

• The Importance of Miyazawa Kiichi: Translation Editor's IntroductionPreface1. Early Life/ On Completion of the Interviews 2. Experiences before and during World War II: The Japan-America Student Conference and the Heading of Tax Offices 3. The Ministry of Finance after Defeat in World War II4. Negotiations with GHQ: The Dodge Line and the Shoup Tax System 5. Attending the San Francisco Peace Conference6. The Beginnings of Kochikai, and the Anpo Protests7. Ikeda’s Visit to America and His Meeting with President Kennedy 8. The Japan-U.S Textile Negotiations9. From the Plaza Accord to the Bursting of the Economic Bubble10. Miyazawa as Prime Minister11. Considering 21st Century JapanEpilogue: On Completion of the InterviewsChronology of Miyazawa Kiichi's Life and Related EventsIndex

Kiichi Miyazawa, prime minister from 1991 to 1993 was at the center of Japanese politics from 1942 when he entered the Finance Ministry until 2003, when he retired from the House of Representatives. No Japanese prime minister was as skilled in English or kept up better on economic matters in the West. He played a key role during the Allied Occupation, in negotiations with the United States during the period of economic tensions. He worked with U.S. presidents from Jack Kennedy to William Clinton. His close relatives included a member of the House of Representatives (his father and nephew), the first Japanese ambassador to China after normalization in 1972 (cousin), governor of Hiroshima (brother). He was especially close to Ikeda Hayato (also from Hiroshima) and Ohira Masayoshi (same faction). As prime minister he approved the visit of the Japanese Emperor to China in 1992. By nature he was modest, honest, straight-forward. We are fortunate that he gave an oral account of his own history, available here in an excellent translation by Timothy George.