
Toshiki Kaifu (born 2 January 1931) was Prime Minister of Japan from 19 August 1989 to 5 November 1991, succeeding Sosuke Uno and preceding Kiichi Miyazawa. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
Biography[]
Toshiki Kaifu was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1931, and he was educated at Chuo University and Waseda University. He successfully ran for the National Diet in 1960 as a Liberal Democratic Party of Japan member, and he served as Education Minister before becoming party leader upon Sosuke Uno's resignation. From 1989 to 1991, he served as Prime Minister, and he was forced to resign due to a lack of support within his own party. In 1994, he became head of the New Frontier Party, and he supported Ichiro Ozawa's party until he returned to the LDP in 2003. In 2009, Kaifu lost his seat in the Diet in an upset election; he had been the longest-serving member of the lower house of the Diet at the time of his defeat, having served 49 years.