Yoshiro Mori (born 14 July 1937) was Prime Minister of Japan from 5 April 2000 to 26 April 2001, succeeding Mikio Aoki and preceding Junichiro Koizumi. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
Biography[]
Yoshiro Mori was born in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan in 1937, and he graduated from Waseda University before becoming a journalist. In 1962, he became a secretary for a National Diet member, and he was himself elected to the Diet in 1969 as a Liberal Democratic Party of Japan member, winning re-election 10 consecutive times. He served as Education Minister in 1983 and 1984, Trade and Industry Minister in 1992 and 1993, and Construction Minister in 1995 and 1996. Mori rose to become Secretary-General, and he took over the post of Prime Minister after Keizo Obuchi suffered from a stroke and cerebral hemorrhage. Mori's premiership was dominated by his gaffes and undiplomatic comments, such as when he joked about AIDS and murders in the United States, failed to clap and bow correctly before Obuchi's shrine (while US president Bill Clinton did so correctly), referred to the Emperor's divinity, drank at a bar with a high-ranking Yakuza, and played golf even after being told that 9 students and teachers had been killed in a naval accident between a US Navy submarine and a Japanese fishing ship. His unpopularity led to his resignation, as his approval ratings had dropped to the single digits. In 2014, he was appointed to head the organizing committee for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but, on 4 February 2021, he was caught making sexist remarks about women in the workplace talking too much, and he was forced to resign on 12 February 2021.