Controversial right-wing politician and former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, who made a decades-long career out of baiting China and offending Japan's liberals, has died aged 89, his family said Tuesday.

A former novelist and popular four-term governor of the capital, Ishihara frequently stoked outrage at home and abroad with his public comments on everything from homosexuality to history.

"As a father, he was quite unique," Yoshizumi Ishihara, one of his sons and a TV personality, told reporters. "But I think you could say he did build an era."

Born in the port city of Kobe in 1932 to a shipping executive, Ishihara achieved fame at only 23 by writing "Season of the Sun", a novel about youths from respectable families exploring the grubby pleasures of the underworld.

He was first elected as a lawmaker in 1968 as a member of the establishment Liberal Democratic Party, and spent more than 25 years in parliament in both the upper and lower houses, as well as serving a stint as transport minister.

In 1995, he left national politics, becoming governor of Tokyo four years later.

In a country known for reticence, Ishihara repeatedly proved unafraid to ruffle feathers, and caused an uproar in 2010 when he said gay people were "missing something, probably something to do with the genes".

He also ridiculed Chinese and Korean residents of Japan, denied the Nanjing massacre and once denounced the United States as a nation of "bigots", describing US military defence of Japan as an illusion.

But perhaps his most inflammatory moment came in 2012, when he provoked a major foreign policy crisis with a plan to buy the uninhabited, disputed islands China calls the Diaoyus and Japan refers to as the Senkakus.

Riots and product boycotts followed in China, which repeatedly sent government ships to disputed waters to press its claim for ownership.

"I think they are insane," an unrepentant Ishihara said of Beijing's response.

He retired from politics in 2014, aged 82, when his right-wing Party for the Future Generations was virtually wiped out in a general election.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Poland offers Ukraine ammunition ahead of PM's visit
Warsaw (AFP) Jan 31, 2022
Poland on Monday said it had offered Ukraine tens of thousands of ammunition rounds ahead of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's visit to Kyiv as fears of a Russian invasion grow. The EU member has also announced it is readying itself for a potential wave of up to a million refugees from Ukraine if negotiations fail and war breaks out. "The decision has been taken to send defensive ammunition to Ukraine," said Pawel Soloch, head of the national security bureau. He told reporters the offer c ... read more