Seiichi Tagawa (田川 誠一, Tagawa Seiichi, June 4, 1918 – August 7, 2009) was a Japanese politician who co-founded the now defunct New Liberal Club in 1976,[1] and served as its president from 1979 until 1984.

Seiichi Tagawa
田川 誠一
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
27 December 1983 – 1 November 1984
Prime MinisterYasuhiro Nakasone
Preceded bySachio Yamamoto
Succeeded byToru Furuya
Member of the House of Representatives of Japan for Kanagawa 2nd district
In office
21 November 1960 – 18 June 1993
Personal details
Born(1918-06-04)June 4, 1918
Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Died7 August 2009(2009-08-07) (aged 91)
Alma materKeio University

Tagawa graduated from Keio University with a B.L. in December 1941. After that, he worked in the Imperial Japanese Army and The Asahi Shimbun Company.

Tagawa was first elected to the House of Representatives of Japan in 1960.[1] He would ultimately be re-elected to the House in eleven elections.[1]

Tagawa and a group of other lawmakers, including Yōhei Kōno, broke away from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1976. Tagawa, Yohei and the others founded the New Liberal Club political party on June 25, 1976.[1]

The New Liberal Club formed a coalition government with the LDP in December 1983.[1] Tagawa became the Minister of Home Affairs within the government of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone as part of the coalition agreement.[1]

The New Liberal Club was disbanded in 1986[1] and rejoined the LDP on August 15, 1986. Following the disbanding of the New Liberal Club, Tagawa went on to found a second political party, the short-lived and now defunct Progressive Party.[1]

Tagawa spent the rest of his career campaigning against political corruption.[1] He retired from politics in 1993.[1]

Seiichi Tagawa died from complications of old age at a nursing home in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on August 7, 2009, at the age of 91.[1]

Tagawa's cousin, Yōhei Kōno, served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan until the House was dissolved in July 2009 in preparation for the 2009 general election.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Former minister Tagawa dies at 91". Kyodo News. The Japan Times. 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
Political offices
Preceded by
Sachio Yamamoto
Minister of Home Affairs
1983–1984
Succeeded by
Toru Furuya
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission
1983–1984
House of Representatives (Japan)
Preceded by
Tatsuo Ozawa
Chair, Social and Labour Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of Japan
1972–1973
Succeeded by
Masakatsu Nohara
Party political offices
Preceded by Secretary General of the New Liberal Club
1979–1980
Succeeded by
Preceded by Representative for the New Liberal Club
1980–1984
Succeeded by
Yōhei Kōno
Preceded by
Party established
Representative for the Progressive Party (Shinshinto)
1987–1993
Succeeded by
Party dissolved