Editing Yasuhiro Nakasone

{{short description|Prime Minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987}}
{{Eastern name order|Nakasone Yasuhiro}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Yasuhiro Nakasone
| native_name         = {{nobold|中曽根 康弘}}
| native_name_lang    = ja
| image               = Yasuhiro_Nakasone_19821127.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1982
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch             = [[Hirohito]]
| deputy              = [[Shin Kanemaru]]
| term_start          = 27 November 1982
| term_end            = 6 November 1987
| predecessor         = [[Zenkō Suzuki]]
| successor           = [[Noboru Takeshita]]
| office1             = [[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|President of the Liberal Democratic Party]]
| vicepresident1      = [[Susumu Nikaidō]]
| 1blankname1         = {{nowrap|[[Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party|Secretary-General]]}}
| 1namedata1          = Susumu Nikaidō<br />[[Rokusuke Tanaka]]<br />[[Shin Kanemaru]]<br />Noboru Takeshita<br />[[Shintaro Abe]]
| term_start1         = 25 November 1982
| term_end1           = 31 October 1987
| predecessor1        = Zenkō Suzuki
| successor1          = Noboru Takeshita
{{collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes | Ministerial offices |titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2             = Director-General of the Administrative Management Agency
| primeminister2      = Zenkō Suzuki
| term_start2         = 17 July 1980
| term_end2           = 27 November 1982
| predecessor2        = [[Sōsuke Uno]]
| successor2          = [[Kunikichi Saitō]]
| office3             = [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry|Minister of International Trade and Industry]]
| primeminister3      = [[Kakuei Tanaka]]
| term_start3         = 7 July 1972
| term_end3           = 9 December 1974
| predecessor3        = Kakuei Tanaka
| successor3          = [[Toshio Kōmoto]]
| office4             = Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency
| primeminister4      = Kakuei Tanaka
| term_start4         = 7 July 1972
| term_end4           = 22 December 1972
| predecessor4        = [[Shirō Kiuchi]]
| successor4          = [[Kazuo Maeda]]
| primeminister5      = [[Nobusuke Kishi]]
| term_start5         = 18 June 1959
| term_end5           = 19 July 1960
| predecessor5        = [[Tatsunosuke Takasaki]]
| successor5          = [[Masuo Araki]]
| office6             = [[Minister of Defense (Japan)|Director-General of the Defense Agency]]
| primeminister6      = [[Eisaku Satō]]
| term_start6         = 14 January 1970
| term_end6           = 5 July 1971
| predecessor6        = [[Kiichi Arita]]
| successor6          = [[Keikichi Masuhara]]
| office7             = [[Ministry of Transport (Japan)|Minister of Transport]]
| primeminister7      = Eisaku Satō
| term_start7         = 25 November 1967
| term_end7           = 30 November 1968
| predecessor7        = [[Takeo Oohashi]]
| successor7          = [[Ken Harada (politician)|Ken Harada]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| office8             = Member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]
| term_start8         = 25 April 1947
| term_end8           = 10 October 2003
| predecessor8        = ''Constituency established''
| successor8          = ''Multi-member district''
| constituency8       = [[Gunma 3rd district (1947–1993)|Gunma 3rd]] (1947–1996)<br>[[Northern Kanto proportional representation block|Northern Kanto PR]] (1996–2003)
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1918|5|27}}
| birth_place         = [[Takasaki]], [[Gunma]],<br>[[Empire of Japan]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|2019|11|29|1918|5|27}}
| death_place         = [[Tokyo]], Japan
| signature           = NakasoneY kao.png
| party               = [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]] (1955–2019)
| otherparty          = [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)|DP]] (1947–1950)<br>[[National Democratic Party (Japan)|NDP]] (1950–1952)<br>[[Kaishintō]] (1952–1954)<br>[[Japan Democratic Party|JDP]] (1954–1955)
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Tsutako Kobayashi|11 February 1945|7 November 2012|reason=died}}
| children            = [[Hirofumi Nakasone]]
| relatives           = [[Yasutaka Nakasone]] (grandson)
| alma_mater          = [[University of Tokyo|Tokyo Imperial University]]
| allegiance          = [[Empire of Japan]]
| branch              = [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
| serviceyears        = 1941–1945
| rank                = [[Lieutenant-commander]] (as Naval Paymaster)
| battles             = [[World War II]]
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Yasuhiro Nakasone voice.ogg|title=Yasuhiro Nakasone's voice|type=speech|description=Nakasone on [[Japan–United States relations]]<br/>Recorded 2 January 1985}}
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Yasuhiro Nakasone'''|中曽根 康弘|Nakasone Yasuhiro|27 May 1918 – 29 November 2019}} was a Japanese politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister of Japan]] from 1982 to 1987. His political term was best known for pushing through the [[privatization]] of state-owned companies and pursuing a hawkish and pro-U.S. foreign policy.

Born in [[Gunma Prefecture]], Nakasone graduated from [[Tokyo Imperial University]] and served in the imperial navy during the Pacific War. After the war, he entered the [[National Diet]] in 1947 and rose through the ranks of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]], serving as chief of the [[Minister of Defense (Japan)#Director general of the Defense Agency|Defense Agency]] from 1970 to 1971 under [[Eisaku Satō]], international trade and industry minister from 1972 to 1974 under [[Kakuei Tanaka]], and administration minister from 1980 to 1982 under [[Zenkō Suzuki]]. As prime minister, he passed large defense budgets and controversially visited the [[Yasukuni Shrine]]. A conservative contemporary of U.S. president [[Ronald Reagan]], Nakasone privatized the [[Japanese National Railways]] and telephone systems, and favored closer ties with the U.S., once calling Japan an "unsinkable aircraft carrier". After leaving office in 1987, he was implicated in the [[Recruit scandal]], causing the influence of his LDP faction to wane before he retired from the Diet in 2004.

==Early life==
=== Family background ===
[[File:1919. Yasuhiro Nakasone.JPG|thumb|left|200px|One-year-old Nakasone (1919)]]
Nakasone was born in [[Takasaki, Gunma|Takasaki]] in [[Gunma]], a prefecture northwest of Tokyo, on 27 May 1918.<ref name="Lentz2014">{{cite book|last=Lentz|first=Harris M.|title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA464|date=4 February 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-26490-2|page=464}}</ref><ref name="NYT01">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/world/asia/30nakasone.html|title=Japan's Elder Statesman Is Silent No Longer|first=Martin|last=Fackler|page=A11|work=The New York Times|date=29 January 2010|access-date=30 January 2010}}</ref> He was the second son of Nakasone Matsugoro II, a lumber dealer, and Nakamura Yuku. He had five siblings: an elder brother named Kichitaro, an elder sister named Shoko, a younger brother named Ryosuke and another younger brother and younger sister who both died in childhood.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of the New Japan|date=6 March 2015|publisher=Curzon Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1246-5|page=14}}</ref> The Nakasone family had been of the ''[[samurai]]'' class during the [[Edo period]], and claimed direct descent from the [[Minamoto clan]] through the famous [[Minamoto no Yoshimitsu]] and through his son [[Minamoto no Yoshikiyo]] (d. 1149). According to family records, Tsunayoshi (k. 1417), a vassal of the [[Takeda clan]] and a tenth-generation descendant of Yoshikiyo, took the name of Nakasone Juro and was killed at the Battle of Sagamigawa.<ref name="Making 1-2">{{cite book|title=The Making of the New Japan|year=2015|publisher=Curzon Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1246-5|pages=1–2}}</ref> In about 1590, the samurai Nakasone Sōemon Mitsunaga settled in the town of {{interlanguage link|Satomimura|ja|里見村 (群馬県)}} in [[Kōzuke Province]]. His descendants became silk merchants and pawnbrokers. Nakasone's father, originally born Nakasone Kanichi, settled in Takasaki in 1912 and established a timber business and lumberyard which had success as a result of the post-[[World War I|WWI]] building boom.<ref name="Making 1-2"/>

=== Education, bureaucratic career and war ===
Nakasone described his early childhood and youth as a happy one, and himself as a "quiet, easy-going child" nicknamed "Yat-chan". He attended a local primary school in Takasaki and was a poor student until the fourth grade, after which he excelled and was at the top of his class. He entered Shizuoka [[Higher school (Japan)|Higher School]] in 1935, where he excelled in history and literature, and learned to speak fluent [[French language|French]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of the New Japan|date=6 March 2015|publisher=Curzon Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1246-5|pages=6–13}}</ref> 

In the autumn of 1938, Nakasone entered the [[Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo|Faculty of Law]] of the [[University of Tokyo|Imperial University of Tokyo]]. During his time at the university, he was strongly influenced by {{Interlanguage link|Teiji Yabe|ja|矢部貞治}}, whose lectures on politics fascinated him. He also developed the belief that personality should not be used as a means to achieve something, which contributed to his strong anti-communist and anti-Nazi views.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Nakasone |first=Yasuhiro |date=1992-01-06 |title=私の履歴書 第五回 一心不乱 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO52769180Z21C19A1000000/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=[[The Nikkei]] |pages=36}}</ref> On the night of 10 March 1940, he received a phone call from his father telling him that his mother in Takasaki had fallen seriously ill. By the time he arrived in Takasaki on the first train the next morning, she had already passed away. The fact that his mother had not told him about her illness, so as not to distract him from his studies, became an impetus for him to work harder. He passed the high-level bureaucrat recruitment examination. He began working for the [[Home Ministry]], which was as prestigious as the [[Ministry of finance|Ministry of Finance]] due to its extensive authority.<ref name=":0" />[[File:Nakasone Yasuhiro in Imperial Japanese Navy.JPG|thumb|upright|Nakasone in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]]]Nakasone applied for the Navy's programme that allowed graduates from elite universities to serve as officers for two years without rising through the ranks. After completing a training period at the Navy Paymaster's School in [[Tsukiji]], he became a lieutenant.<ref name="NYT01" /> With 2,000 staff under his command, ranging from young doctors and scholars to elderly ex-convicts, Nakasone departed the naval base at Kure on 29 November 1941 on a mission to build airfields. Aboard his ship, he struggled to issue effective orders to his staff and ultimately selected an ex-yakuza with eight convictions as his assistant to relay his commands. In January 1942, he arrived at [[Balikpapan]] in [[Dutch East Indies]], where his unit was raided by a retreating Dutch cruiser.<ref name="mindy kotler">{{cite news |last1=Kotler |first1=Mindy |title=The Comfort Women and Japan's War on Truth (Published 2014) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/opinion/comfort-women-and-japans-war-on-truth.html |work=The New York Times |date=14 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=『報道特集』 がついに中曽根元首相の「土人女を集め慰安所開設」文書を報道！ 息子の弘文が慰安婦否定の責任者ってなんの冗談？ |url=https://lite-ra.com/i/2015/07/post-1323-entry.html |access-date=15 October 2020 |work=本と雑誌のニュースサイト／リテラ |issue=July 2017 |publisher=LITERA}}</ref> On the beach, he cremated the first 23 casualties among his staff, including his ex-yakuza assistant. This experience left a deep and lasting impression, which profoundly influenced his political beliefs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nakasone |first=Yasuhiro |date=1992-01-09 |title=私の履歴書 第八回 戦友を焼く ーー 空襲に腹固めあぐら |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO52769180Z21C19A1000000/ |work=[[The Nikkei]] |pages=36}}</ref> There, he realized that the construction of the airfield had been stalled due to the prevalence of sexual crimes, gambling, and other problems among his men, so he gathered [[comfort women]] and organized  a brothel called “comfort station” as a solution.<ref name="mindy kotler" /> He managed to procure four Indonesian women, and a Navy report praised him for having “mitigated the mood of his troops".<ref name="mindy kotler" /> Nakasone married Tsutako Kobayashi, the daughter of geologist Giichiro Kobayashi, on 11 February 1945. A fortnight later, he lost his younger brother, Ryosuke, in an air accident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yasuhiro |first=Nakasone |date=1992-01-10 |title=私の履歴書 第九回 結婚 同僚の妹、お使いが縁 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO52769180Z21C19A1000000/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=[[The Nikkei]] |pages=40}}</ref> 

Upon returning to Tokyo after the end of the Second World War, he resumed his suspended career at the Home Ministry. He observed the growing prevalence of communism among the Japanese people, but the [[Civil service of Japan|Civil Service]] was largely powerless to address it under the absolute authority of the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers|Allied Occupation Forces]]. While supervising the police force in [[Kagawa Prefecture]], he decided to abandon his bureaucratic career and stand in the upcoming general election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nakasone |first=Yasuhiro |date=1992-01-12 |title=私の履歴書 第十一回 初当選 白い自転車駆り演説 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO52769180Z21C19A1000000/ |work=[[The Nikkei]]}}</ref> He later wrote of his return to Tokyo in August 1945 after Japan's surrender: "I stood vacantly amid the ruins of Tokyo, after discarding my officer's short sword and removing the epaulettes of my uniform. As I looked around me, I swore to resurrect my homeland from the ashes of defeat".<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Harvey|title=The Undefeated: The Rise, Fall and Rise of Greater Japan|location=London|publisher=Macmillan|date=1994|page=362}}</ref>

== Early parliamentary career ==
[[File:Nobusuke Kishi Cabinet 19590618.jpg|thumb|Nakasone's first cabinet role was as Minister of Science and Technology in the [[Second Kishi Cabinet#Reshuffled Cabinet|reshuffled Second Kishi Cabinet]] in 1959. He can be seen at the centre of the fourth row from the front.]]
He stand in the [[1949 Japanese general election|1949 general election]] as a [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)|Democratic Party]] candidate. He campaigned on a nationalist platform, arguing for an enlarged [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|Self-Defence Force]], to amend [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution]] (which outlawed war as a means to settling international disputes), and to revive Japanese patriotism, especially in reverence for the Emperor.<ref name="Harvey, p. 362">Harvey, p. 362.</ref>  He entered the [[National Diet|Japanese Diet]] as a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] for the Democratic Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senkyo.janjan.jp/election/1947/99/000733/00000733_2931.html|title=The Senkyo, 23rd election of the House of Representatives, Gunma's 3rd district|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309085050/http://www.senkyo.janjan.jp/election/1947/99/000733/00000733_2931.html|archive-date=9 March 2007}}</ref> "As a freshman lawmaker in 1951, he delivered a 28-page letter to [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]] criticising the occupation, a brazen move. The General angrily threw the letter in [the] bin, Yasuhiro was later told. This stand established [Yasuhiro Nakasone's] credentials as a [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] politician."<ref name="NYT01"/> He gained brief notoriety in 1952 for blaming Emperor [[Hirohito]] for Japan's defeat in the war.<ref>Bix, H.P. ''Hirohito'', 2000. page 649.</ref>  In 1955, at Nakasone's urging, the government granted the equivalent of $14,000,000 to the Agency for Industrial Science and Technology to begin [[nuclear power]] research.<ref>[[Daniel P. Aldrich]], [http://www.tnr.com/article/world/85463/japan-nuclear-power-regulation With a Mighty Hand], ''New Republic''</ref> Nakasone rose through the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]]'s ranks, becoming Minister of Science in 1959 under the government of [[Nobusuke Kishi]], then Minister of Transport in 1967, [[Minister of Defense (Japan)#Director general of the Defense Agency|Director General of the Japan Defense Agency]] from 1970 to 1971, [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry|Minister of International Trade and Industry]] in 1972 and Minister of Administration in 1981.

As the head of the Self-Defence Force, Nakasone argued for an increase in defence spending from less than 1% GNP to 3% of GNP. He was also in favour of Japan having tactical nuclear weapons.<ref name="Harvey, p. 363">Harvey, p. 363.</ref> He was labelled "the weathervane" in 1972 because he switched his support from [[Takeo Fukuda]] to [[Kakuei Tanaka]] in the leadership election, ensuring Tanaka's victory. In turn, Tanaka would give his powerful support to Nakasone against Fukuda a decade later in the fight for the premiership.<ref name="Harvey, p. 363"/>

==Premiership (1982–1987)==
{{seealso|First Nakasone Cabinet|Second Nakasone Cabinet|Third Nakasone Cabinet}}
In 1982, Nakasone became prime minister. Along with Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Shintaro Abe]], Nakasone improved Japanese relations with the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] and the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. Nakasone was best known for his close relationship with U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]], popularly called the "Ron-Yasu" friendship. Nakasone sought a more equal relationship with the United States, and said: "President Reagan is the pitcher and I'm the catcher. When the pitcher gives the signs, I'll co-operate unsparingly, but if he doesn't sometimes follow the catcher's signs, the game can't be won".<ref name="Harvey, p. 365">Harvey, p. 365.</ref> Nakasone said Japan would be "America's unsinkable aircraft carrier" in the Pacific and that Japan would "keep complete control of the four straits that go through to Japanese islands, to prevent the passage of Soviet submarines".<ref name="Harvey, p. 365"/> He was attacked by political opponents as a reactionary and a "dangerous militarist". Nakasone responded by saying: "A nation must shed any sense of ignominy and move forward seeking glory". However his attempt to amend Article 9 failed.<ref name="Harvey, p. 365"/>

In 1984, Nakasone visited China on the twelfth anniversary of Japan's diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic, for which the Chinese government arranged tours of China for 3,000 Japanese youths. On the trip, Nakasone's son was privately accompanied by the daughter of [[Hu Yaobang]], the-then [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]]. After the event, Hu was criticised by other members of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] for the extravagance and warmth of the event.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jlOQc8BumIC&pg=PA315|title=Pioneers of Modern China: Understanding the Inscrutable Chinese|last=Lee|first=Khoon Choy|location=Singapore|publisher=World Scientific Publishing|date=2005|page=311|isbn=981-256-464-0}}</ref> Nakasone also visited President [[Corazon Aquino]] in a series of talks between the [[Philippines]] and Japan during a special state visit from 1986 to 1987, to provide good economic and trade relations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/11/japan-promises-aquino-aid/414fd31c-a6f8-4ba7-9088-f9f33d12ea07/|title=Japan Promises Aquino Aid|last=Burgess|first=John|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 November 1986|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/14/aquino-ends-visit-to-japan/ded4943a-5153-4554-a910-f8876cebf989/|title=Aquino Ends Visit to Japan|last=Burgess|first=John|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=14 November 1986|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref>

In economic affairs, Nakasone's most notable policy was his [[privatisation]] initiative, which led to the breakup of [[Japan National Railways]] into the modern [[Japan Railways Group|Japan Railways Group (JR)]]. This led to 80,000 redundancies, unheard of in Japan until that point.<ref name="Harvey, p. 369">Harvey, p. 369.</ref> He also privatized Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation to create [[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone|Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT)]] and [[Japan Tobacco|Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jiji.com/jc/v6?id=sonotoki12&a=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726043520/https://www.jiji.com/jc/v6?id=sonotoki12&a=1|script-title=ja:中曽根康弘|language=ja|publisher=[[Jiji Press]]|archive-date=26 July 2022}}</ref><ref name ="jilpt08">{{cite web|url=https://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/2008/documents/046/046_01.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904105326/https://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/2008/documents/046/046_01.pdf|script-title=ja:調査の目的と民営化の動向 |pages=5, 12–14|language=ja|publisher=[[Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training]]|archive-date=4 September 2021}}</ref> The privatization of the three public corporations reduced the number of employees and significantly improved ordinary income per employee, productivity, and sales.<ref name ="jilpt08"/> According to a report by [[Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training]], 20 years after the privatization of NTT and JT and 16 years after the privatization of JR, the number of employees was reduced to 35% for JT, 65% for NTT and 70% for JR. In addition, NTT, JT and JR increased their ordinary income by 8 times, 5.5 times and 3 times, respectively. The productivity of NTT, JT and JR increased 3 times, 2.5 times and 1.5 times, respectively. Sales at NTT and JR increased 2.2 times and 1.2 times, respectively.<ref name ="jilpt08"/> Nakasone wrote of his economic reforms:

<blockquote>I was carrying out a kind of "improvement" of Japan's structure. For 110 years, ever since the [[Meiji restoration]], Japan had been striving to catch up with America and Britain. In the 1970s we did catch up. Beyond that point the [state's] regulations only stand in the way of the growth of the economy. If government officials have too much power, the private sector of the economy will not grow. We had to change the system.<ref name="Harvey, p. 364">Harvey, p. 364.</ref></blockquote>

For the first time in Japan's post-war history, bureaucrats lost their leading role.<ref name="Harvey, p. 364"/> In 1985, Nakasone appointed the former Governor of the [[Bank of Japan]], [[Haruo Maekawa]], to head a commission on Japan's economic future. In 1986, the Commission recommended that Japan should grow not through exports (which were angering Japan's trading partners) but from within. Nakasone advised the Japanese public to purchase foreign imports; in a well-publicised shopping trip, he bought an American tennis racket, an Italian tie and a French shirt. He said: "Japan is like a [[mah-jong]] player who always wins. Sooner or later the other players will decide that they do not want to play with him".<ref name="Harvey, p. 369"/> The Japanese public were skeptical but the Commission created a good impression abroad, especially in America, where the [[United States Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment|Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs]] [[W. Allen Wallis]] called it a watershed in Japan's post-war economic policy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Karel van Wolferen|title=The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation|location=New York|publisher=Vintage|date=1990|page=413}}</ref>

Nakasone also became known for having a [[nationalism|nationalist]] attitude and for wanting to stimulate ethnic pride amongst the Japanese.<ref>Wolferen, p. 267.</ref> He was an adherent to the ''[[nihonjinron]]'' theory that claims Japan is incomparably different from the rest of the world.<ref name="Wolferen, p. 264">Wolferen, p. 264.</ref> Influenced by Japanese philosopher [[Tetsuro Watsuji]], Nakasone believed that Japan's "monsoon culture" inspired a special Japanese compassion, unlike the desert culture of the Middle East that produced the [[Judeo-Christian]] "An [[eye for an eye]], a tooth for a tooth". In a speech in 1986, Nakasone said it was Japan's international mission to spread the monsoon culture abroad.<ref name="Wolferen, p. 264"/>

On 15 August 1985, the fortieth anniversary of Japan's surrender, Nakasone and his Cabinet visited the [[Yasukuni Shrine]], where Japan's war casualties - including convicted war criminals - were buried, in full [[mourning dress]]. This had great symbolic significance as he visited the shrine in his official capacity, intending to reassert the Japanese government's respect for the spirits of the ancestors killed in battle, including those who died in [[World War II]].<ref>Harvey, p. 367.</ref> This turned out however to be a controversial move which was heavily criticised by the Chinese Government (including in its newspaper, ''[[People's Daily]]'') and led to angry demonstrations in Beijing.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haberman |first=Clyde |date=10 October 1985 |title=Nakasone, Giving in, Will Shun Shrine |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/10/world/nakasone-giving-in-will-shun-shrine.html |access-date= 30 December 2020}}</ref> It was also attacked by opponents at home for violating the Constitution's separation of religion and state. Nakasone defended his actions by saying, "The true defence of Japan&nbsp;... becomes possible only through the combination of liberty-loving peoples who are equal to each other&nbsp;... The manner is desired to be based on self-determination of the race". He also said, "It is considered progressive to criticise pre-war Japan for its faults and defects, but I firmly oppose such a notion. A nation is still a nation whether it wins or loses a war".<ref name="Harvey, p. 368">Harvey, p. 368.</ref>

Nakasone also sought educational reform, setting up a commission. Its report recommended that "a spirit of patriotism" should be inculcated in children, along with respect for elders and authority. This was not fully implemented and came under attack from the [[Japan Teachers Union|teachers' trade union]]. The commission also recommended that the [[Kimigayo|national anthem]] should be taught and that the [[Rising Sun Flag]] should also be raised during entrance and graduation ceremonies. History textbooks were also reformed. In 1986, Nakasone dismissed his Education Minister, [[Masayuki Fujio]], after he justified Japan's [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|annexation of Korea in 1910]].<ref name="Harvey, p. 368"/>

Nakasone aroused controversy in September 1986 when he claimed that Americans were, on average, less intelligent than Japanese because "the US has many immigrants, [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Ricans]], [[Mexican Americans|Mexicans]], and [[African-Americans|Blacks]], who bring the average level down" and also said that "in America today there are still many Blacks who can't even read."<ref name="Harvey, p. 368"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Thorsten|first=Marie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOHGBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT58|title=Superhuman Japan: Knowledge, Nation and Culture in US-Japan Relations|date=2012-03-15|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-44672-6|language=en}}</ref> He then clarified his comments, stating that he meant to congratulate the U.S. on its economic success despite the presence of "problematic" minorities.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101861006-143333,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310234346/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101861006-143333,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 March 2007|title=Nakasone's World-Class Blunder|first=Ezra|last=Bowen|magazine=Time|date=24 June 2001}}</ref> [[Ainu people]] living in Japan criticized this comment as ignoring the reality of racial discrimination against them.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 1986 |title='No Minority Races in Japan,' Says Nakasone |work=[[The Japan Times]] |pages=2}}</ref>

In 1987, he was forced to resign after he attempted to introduce a [[value added tax]] to reduce the burden of direct taxes in a policy designed to cut the budget deficit.<ref name="Harvey, p. 369"/>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:President Reagan and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.jpg|Having lunch with [[Ronald Reagan]] (at Nakasone's country residence in [[Hinode, Tokyo|Hinode]], [[Nishitama District, Tokyo|Nishitama]], [[Tokyo]] in 1983)
File:G-7 Summit 1983.jpg|With leaders of the [[G7]] (at the [[9th G7 summit]] in 1983)
File:President Ronald Reagan Walking with Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan at Camp David.jpg|With [[Ronald Reagan]] (at [[Camp David]] on 13 April 1986)
File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan receive a gift from Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.jpg|With [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan]] (at [[Camp David]] on 13 April 1986)
</gallery>

==Later political life==
[[File:Mulroney Thatcher and Gorbachev at Reagan's funeral.jpg|right|thumb|200px|With former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], former Canadian [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Brian Mulroney]], and former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] (at the [[funeral of Ronald Reagan|Funeral of former President Ronald Reagan]] on 11 June 2004)]]

Nakasone was replaced by [[Noboru Takeshita]] in 1987, and was implicated, along with other LDP lawmakers, in the [[Recruit scandal]] that broke the following year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-10-fi-1948-story.html|title=Ex-Executive Is Sentenced in Japan's Recruit Scandal|date=10 October 1990|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/10/business/big-conviction-in-recruit-scandal.html|title=Big Conviction in Recruit Scandal|first=David E.|last=Sanger|work=The New York Times|date=10 October 1990}}</ref>

Although he remained in the Diet for another decade and a half, his influence gradually waned. In 2003, despite a fight,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/10/24/national/single-seat-constituencies-offer-refuge-for-ldp-elders-who-refuse-to-retire/#.XeDWOPZuI2w|title=Single-seat constituencies offer refuge for LDP elders who refuse to retire|publisher=The Japan Times|date=24 October 2003|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref> Nakasone was not given a place on the LDP's electoral list as the party, by then led by [[Jun'ichirō Koizumi]], introduced an age limit of 73 years for candidates in the proportional representation blocks, ending his career as a member of the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191129_28/|title=Yasuhiro Nakasone dies|work=NHK World-Japan News|date=28 November 2019|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref>

In 2010, "aware of his status as one of the few leaders revered across Japan's suddenly fractured political landscape" and the country's "most revered elder statesman", Nakasone launched a series of interviews to address the direction of prime minister [[Yukio Hatoyama]]'s government. In a profile at that time, he saw Hatoyama's "inexperienced left-leaning" government as "challenging Japan's postwar political order and its close relationship with the United States". As well, the LDP was "crumbling into disarray" in the wake of Hatoyama's victory. In the profile, Nakasone described the moment "as a national opening on par with the wrenching social and political changes that followed defeat in the [world] war [and] praised the appearance of a strong [[Democratic Party of Japan|second political party]] as a step toward true democracy".<ref name="NYT01" /> "Being knocked out of power is a good chance to study in the cram school of public opinion", he was quoted as saying of the LDP. He "faulted Mr. Hatoyama for giving Washington the impression that [Hatoyama] valued ties with China more than he did those with the United States. 'Because of the prime minister’s imprudent remarks, the current situation calls for Japan to make efforts to improve things,' he said. The [Japanese] relationship with the United States is different from that with China, he said, because 'it is built on a security alliance, and not just on the alliance, but on the shared values of liberal democracy, and on its shared ideals.'" And relative to another high-profile current source of friction between Japan and the United States, Nakasone said: "Problems like [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] [and the American military base there] can be solved by talking together."<ref name="NYT01" />

==Personal life and death==
On 11 February 1945, Nakasone married Tsutako Nakasone (30 October 1921 – 7 November 2012).<ref>{{cite book|author1=IPS Chiyoda-ku|author2=Leslie Connors|author3=Yasuhiro Nakasone|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRwOAB75pJoC&q=Tsutako+Nakasone+1945&pg=PA44|title=The Making of the New Japan: Reclaiming the Political Mainstream|date=6 December 2012|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136116506|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gree.jp/nakasone_hirofumi/blog/entry/654789333|script-title=ja:中曽根弘文 公式ブログ/中曽根蔦子との別れ - GREE|publisher=Gree.jp|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tisen.jp/hbd/query.php?from=12281&KeyDate=&KeyName=&KeyTITLE=&KeyHOME=&KeyNAME_2=&KeyMEMO=|script-title=ja:誕生日データベース|publisher=Tisen.jp|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/obituaries/intro/TKY201211070815.html?id1=2&id2=cabcbbai|script-title=ja:朝日新聞デジタル：中曽根蔦子さん死去 康弘元首相の妻 - おくやみ・訃報|publisher=Asahi.com|date=7 November 2012|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref> Nakasone's son, [[Hirofumi Nakasone]], is also a member of the Diet; he has served as [[Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)|Minister of Education]] and as Minister of Foreign Affairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimin.jp/member/member_list/legislator/100497.html|script-title=ja:中曽根 弘文|title=Nakasone Hirofumi|website=jimin.jp|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref> His grandson, [[Yasutaka Nakasone]], is a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web |title=LDP Members NAKASONE Yasutaka |url=https://www.jimin.jp/english/profile/members/136070.html |website=jimin.jp |access-date=11 July 2023}}</ref>

Nakasone died in Tokyo on 29 November 2019, at the age of 101 years and 186 days.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/11/9aa816c91bed-breaking-news-ex-japanese-prime-minister-nakasone-dies-at-101.html|title=Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone dies at 101|newspaper=Kyodo News+ |publisher=English.kyodonews.net|date=29 November 2019|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Norimitsu Onishi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/obituaries/yasuhiro-nakasone-dies-japan.html|title=Yasuhiro Nakasone, Assertive Prime Minister of Japan, Dies at 101|work=New York Times|date=28 November 2019|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref> Nakasone was the second oldest Prime Minister of Japan by age after [[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni|Naruhiko Higashikuni]], who lived to {{Age in years and days|1887|12|3|1990|1|20|mf=y}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180526/p2a/00m/0na/016000c|title=Ex-Japan PM Nakasone to turn 100 on May 27|date=26 May 2018|newspaper=Mainichi Daily News}}</ref>

== Honours ==
[[File:Yoshihide Suga 20201017 3.jpg|thumb|[[Prime Minister of Japan]] [[Yoshihide Suga]] addressed at the official funeral for Yasuhiro Nakasone at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Minato Ward, Tōkyō Metropolis on October 17, 2020]]

=== National honours ===
* [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]]:
**[[File:JPN Daikun'i kikkasho BAR.svg|70px]] [[Order of the Chrysanthemum#Ordinary awards of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum|Grand Cordon]], 29 April 1997<ref name="ReferenceA">From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia{{circular reference|date=November 2019}}</ref>
**[[File:JPN Daikun'i kikkasho BAR.svg|70px]] [[Order of the Chrysanthemum#Ordinary awards of the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum|Collar]], 29 November 2019 (posthumously)<ref name=kikka>{{cite web |url= https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO53872750X21C19A2EAF000/|title= 故中曽根元首相に従一位 最高勲章贈る|access-date= 16 April 2020|work= The Nikkei|date= 27 December 2019}}</ref>
** [[File:Golden Pheasant Award ribbon.svg |70px]] [[Golden Pheasant Award]] of the [[Scout Association of Japan]] (1986)<ref name="reinanzaka">{{Cite web |date=2014-05-23|script-title=ja:䝪䞊䜲䝇䜹䜴䝖日本連盟 きじ章受章者 |trans-title=Recipient of the Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan |url=http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811030258/http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-date=2020-08-11 |website=Reinanzaka Scout Club| language=ja}}</ref>
**[[List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles|Junior First Rank]] (29 November 2019; posthumously)<ref name=kikka/>

=== Foreign honours ===
*{{flag|Mexico}}:
**[[File:MEX Order of the Aztec Eagle 1Class BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of the Aztec Eagle#Before 2011|Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
*{{flag|Germany}}:
**[[File:GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 7 Grosskreuz.svg|70px]] [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
*{{flag|Philippines}}:
**[[File:PHI Order of Sikatuna 2003 Grand Collar BAR.svg|70px]] [[Order of Sikatuna|Grand Collar (''Raja'') of the Order of Sikatuna]]
*{{flag|Egypt}}:
**[[File:EGY Order of the Nile - Grand Cordon BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of the Nile#Republic of Egypt|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile]]
*{{flag|Indonesia}}:
**[[File:Bintang Mahaputera Adipurna rib.svg|70px]] [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Indonesia#Bintang Mahaputera (Star of Mahaputera)|Star of Mahaputera, 1st Class]] ({{langx|id|[[:id:Bintang Mahaputera Adipurna|Bintang Mahaputera Adipurna]]}})
*{{flag|Norway}}:
**[[File:St Olavs Orden storkors stripe.svg|70px]] [[Order of St. Olav|Grand Cross (''Storkors'') of the Order of Saint Olav]]
*{{flag|Argentina}}:
**[[File:ARG Order of the Liberator San Martin - Grand Cross BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of the Liberator General San Martín|Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín]]
*{{flag|Brunei}}:
**[[File:BRU Order of the Crown of Brunei.svg|70px]] [[Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei|The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, First Class]]
*{{flag|Peru}}:
**[[File:Order of Merit for Distinguished Service (Peru).svg|70px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service ({{langx|es|[[:es:Orden al Mérito por Servicios Distinguidos|Orden al Mérito por Servicios Distinguidos]]}})
*{{flag|Finland}}:
**[[File:FIN Order of the White Rose Grand Cross BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of the White Rose of Finland|Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland]]
*{{flag|South Korea}}:
**[[File:Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (Class 1) Grand Gwanghwa Medal ribbon.gif|70px]] [[Order of Diplomatic Service Merit|Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, 1st Class (Grand Gwanghwa Medal)]]
*{{flag|Thailand}}:
**[[File:Order of the White Elephant - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Order of the White Elephant|Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant]]
*{{flag|France}}:
**[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Légion d'honneur|Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

== See also ==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
* {{Portal-inline|Japan}}
* {{Portal-inline|Conservatism}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Robert Harvey, ''The Undefeated: The Rise, Fall and Rise of Greater Japan'' (London: Macmillan, 1994).
* Karel van Wolferen, ''The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation'' (New York: Vintage, 1990).
* ''The Making of the New Japan''. Curzon Press. 6 March 2015.
{{refend}}

=== External links ===
*{{C-SPAN|1826}}

==Further reading==
=== Secondary sources ===
* Hatta, Tatsuo. "The Nakasone-Takeshita tax reform: a critical evaluation". ''American Economic Review'' 82.2 (1992): 231–236. {{JSTOR|2117406}}.
* Hebbert, Michael, and Norihiro Nakai. "Deregulation of Japanese planning in the Nakasone era". ''Town Planning Review'' 59.4 (1988): 383.
*{{cite book|first=Christopher P.|last=Hood|year=2001|title=Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone's Legacy|location=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-23283-X}}
* Muramatsu, Michio. "In search of national identity: The politics and policies of the Nakasone administration". ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 13.2 (1987): 307–342. {{JSTOR|132472}}.
* Pharr, Susan J. "Japan in 1985: The Nakasone Era Peaks". ''Asian Survey'' 26.1 (1986): 54–65. {{JSTOR|2644093}}.
* Pyle, Kenneth B. "In pursuit of a grand design: Nakasone betwixt the past and the future". ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 13.2 (1987): 243–270. {{JSTOR|132470}}.
* Hofmann, Reto. "The Conservative Imaginary: Moral Re-armament and the Internationalism of the Japanese Right, 1945–1962," ''Japan Forum,'' (2021) 33:1, 77-102, DOI:10.1080/09555803.2019.1646785
* Thayer, Nathaniel B. "Japan in 1984: the Nakasone Era continues". ''Asian Survey'' 25.1 (1985): 51–64. {{JSTOR|2644056}}.

===Primary sources===
* Carter, Jimmy, and Yasuhiro Nakasone. "Ensuring alliance in an unsure world: The strengthening of US‐Japan partnership in the 1990s". ''Washington Quarterly'' 15.1 (1992): 43–56.
* Nakasone, Yasuhiro. "Reflections on Japan's past". ''Asia‐Pacific Review'' 2.2 (1995): 53–71.
* Nakasone, Yasuhiro. "Pitchers and catchers: Politicians, bureaucrats, and policy‐making in Japan". ''Asia‐Pacific Review'' 2.1 (1995): 5–14.
* Nakasone, Yasuhiro. "Japan and the China Problem: A Liberal-Democratic View". ''Japan Quarterly'' 8.3 (1961): 266–273.

==Offices and distinctions==
{{Navboxes
|title=Offices and distinctions
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Zenkō Suzuki]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Japan]]|years=1982–1987}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Noboru Takeshita]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sōsuke Uno]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of State, Head of the [[Administrative Management Agency]]|years=1980–1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kunikichi Saitō]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kakuei Tanaka]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of International Trade and Industry]]|years=1972–1974}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Toshio Kōmoto]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Tatsunosuke Takasaki]]<br />[[Shirō Kiuchi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of State, Head of the [[Science and Technology Agency]]|years=1959–1960<br />1972}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Masuo Araki]]<br />[[Kazuo Maeda]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kiichi Arita]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of State, Head of the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Defense Agency]]|years=1970–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Keiichi Masuhara]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Takeo Ōhashi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Transport (Japan)|Minister of Transport]]|years=1967–1968}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ken Harada (politician)|Ken Harada]]}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Helmut Kohl]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[G8|Chairperson of the G7]]|years=1986}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Amintore Fanfani]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Zenkō Suzuki]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]]|years=1982–1987}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Noboru Takeshita]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Susumu Nikaidō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary-General of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]]|years=1974–1976}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Tsuneo Uchida]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Zenkō Suzuki]]<br />[[Masumi Esaki]]}}
{{s-ttl|title= General Council Chairman of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]]|years=1971–1972<br />1977–1978}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Zenkō Suzuki]]<br />[[Kuraishi Tadao]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Himself (Co-chairman)<br />[[Umekichi Nakamura]] (Co-chairman)<br />[[Yoshio Sakurauchi]] (Co-chairman)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[Shinsei Dōshikai]] (Nakasone faction)|years=1968–1978}}
{{s-non|reason=Change of official faction name}}
{{s-new|reason=Change of official faction name}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[Seisaku Kagaku Kenkyūjo]] (Nakasone faction)|years=1978–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michio Watanabe]]}}
{{s-par|jp-lwr}}
{{s-new|reason=New district}}
{{s-ttl|title=Representative for [[Gunma's 3rd district (1947-1993)|Gunma's 3rd district]] (multi-member)|alongside=[[Mitsuhei Obuchi]], [[Takeo Fukuda]], [[Tsuruo Yamaguchi]], [[Keizō Obuchi]], [[Yasuo Fukuda]], numerous others | years=1947–1996}}
{{s-non|reason=District eliminated}}
{{s-new|reason=Introduction of proportional voting}}
{{s-ttl|title=Representative for the Kita-Kantō PR block | years=1996–2004}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Genichiro Sata]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=Yoshiro Ando}}
{{s-ttl|title=Principal of [[Takushoku University]]|years=1967–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=Teisuke Toyoda}}
{{S-end}}}}

{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
{{Liberal Democratic Party of Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakasone, Yasuhiro}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (Japan, 1947) politicians]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Navy officers]]
[[Category:Japanese men centenarians]]
[[Category:Ministers of defense of Japan]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Japanese Shintoists]]
[[Category:Japanese nationalists]]
[[Category:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)]]
[[Category:Liberal Democratic Party prime ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)]]
[[Category:People from Takasaki, Gunma]]
[[Category:University of Tokyo alumni]]
[[Category:Politicians from Gunma Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese anti-communists]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2000–2003]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1996–2000]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1993–1996]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1990–1993]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1986–1990]]