Editing Masayoshi Ōhira (section)

==LDP power broker and prime minister==

[[File:Keith Holyoake and Masayoshi Ohira cropped 2 Keith Holyoake and Masayoshi Ohira 197210.jpg|thumb|left|200px|with [[Keith Holyoake]] (October 1972)]]
[[File:Masayoshi Ohira at Andrews AFB 1 Jan 1980 cropped 1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Masayoshi Ōhira at [[Andrews Air Force Base]] in 1980.]]
At the apex of his political life, Ōhira came to represent what were known as the "mainstream factions" within the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP), which put him at odds with Prime Minister [[Takeo Fukuda]], who led what were known as the "anti-mainstream" factions.<ref>Nihon Kōgyō Shinbunsha. (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=F-yOAAAAIAAJ&q=Masayoshi+Ohira ''Business Japan''.] Vol. 24, Nos. 10–12, p. 47.</ref> From 1968 to 1970, Ōhira served as Minister of International Trade and Industry under Ikeda's successor [[Eisaku Satō]]. In 1972, Ōhira unsuccessfully competed for the party leadership before throwing his support to ultimate winner [[Kakuei Tanaka]]. Ōhira was then rewarded for his support with a post as Tanaka's first Foreign Minister, which he held until mid-July 1974.<ref name="daytona">{{cite news|title=Tanaka reshuffles Japanese cabinet|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19740717&id=74seAAAAIBAJ&pg=791,289067|access-date=6 January 2013|newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning|date=17 July 1974|agency=AP|location=Tokyo}}</ref> In a cabinet reshuffle in July 1974, he was replaced by [[Toshio Kimura]] as Foreign Minister but then immediately appointed Finance Minister, replacing [[Takeo Fukuda]].<ref name="daytona" />

Ōhira was elected to the presidency of the LDP in late 1978. On 7 December 1978, he was appointed 68th Prime Minister, successfully pushing longtime rival [[Takeo Fukuda]] from his position.<ref>Brown, James Robert. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=YALptE82j04C&dq=Masayoshi+Ohira&pg=PA199 ''The ministry of finance'', p. 199.]</ref>

Ōhira was the sixth [[Christianity|Christian]] to hold this office after [[Hara Takashi]], [[Takahashi Korekiyo]], [[Ichirō Hatoyama]], [[Tetsu Katayama]], and [[Shigeru Yoshida]].

In the general election of 1979, the LDP narrowly failed to win an outright majority, but enough independent members of the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]] joined the party to enable Ōhira to remain in office, and he was duly reappointed on 9 November of that year. On 16 May 1980, a [[vote of no confidence]] was held in the Diet.

Ōhira expected the motion to fail, and was visibly shaken when it passed 243–187.{{Cn|date=January 2023}} 69 members of his own LDP, including Fukuda, abstained. Given the choice of resigning or calling new elections, Ōhira chose the latter and began campaigning for LDP candidates.