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| Hashimoto Ryutaro | |
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| Date of Birth | 29 July 1937 | |
| Place of Birth | Tokyo | |
Hashimoto Ryutaro is the 38th prime minister of Japan.
Since his father was also a politician, he followed in his footsteps, graduating from the faculty of law of Keio-Gijuku University. Once he became an office worker and worked for three years, however, later he quit his job and became the secretary to the Minister of Health and Welfare. As soon as he was 25 years old, the minimum age for participation in government, he was chosen as a member of the Diet. At that time he was the youngest member of the House of Councilors in Japan. After that, he has held various ministries -- Health and Welfare, Transport, Finance, and International Trade & Industry.
He seems to have walked an elite road. However, once he got into trouble. It became known that his secretary was involved in a unlawful financial translation by Fuji Bank in 1991. Hashimoto took responsibility for this and retired as Minister of Finance. He bore his difficulty for a while, and finally made a comeback as the Minister of International Trade & Industry in 1994.
He was chosen as the president of the Liberal-Democratic Party on September 22, 1995 and finally was elected Prime Minister on January 11, 1996.
Tomiichi Murayama & Ryutaro Hashimoto compared
Newsweek article (Sept. 20, 1995)
References: Gendai Nihonjinmeiroku, 1994, vol.3 p1491
Reported by: Ken Yoneda
Data verified by: Mineyo Morita
Date of Report: November 1995
Revised by: Kenji Tsuchida, May 1996