Japan’s Former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu died earlier this month at the age of 91, the government announced on Friday.
Kaifu held the post of prime minister for about two years from 1989. He was known for sending the Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Arabian Gulf in 1991.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said he died on Sunday. The cause of his death was not immediately revealed.
“He dedicated himself to tackling many policy challenges amid a turbulent international situation, including the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War,” Matsuno said in offering condolences.
In August 1991, Kaifu was the first leader of a major democratic country visit Beijing since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy students protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 sparked worldwide rebuke and the imposition of diplomatic, economic and military sanctions against China.
Kaifu was forced to step down as premier in November 1991 after he vowed to reform the country’s political system only to see a key bill fail to pass through parliament.
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