Seiroku Kajiyama

Kajiyama studied at the Imperial Japanese Army Air Academy from 1944 to 1945. After the end of World War II disbanded the Academy, he entered Nihon University, from which he graduated in 1947. He then took over his family's business in Ibaraki Prefecture for several years.

After a stint in the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly from 1955 to 1969, Kajiyama was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1969 general election, the first of nine electoral victories.[1]

Kajiyama drew controversy in 1990 when, following an arrest of prostitutes in Shinjuku, he commented: "'It's like in America when neighborhoods become mixed because blacks move in, and whites are forced out."[2]

Kajiyama became a prominent supporter of faction leader Noboru Takeshita. He served as Minister of Home Affairs under the Takeshita cabinet from 1987 to 1989, as Minister of International Trade and Industry under the Uno cabinet from 1989 to 1990, as Minister of Justice under the Kaifu cabinet from 1990 to 1992. He then served as Secretary-General of the LDP from 1992 to 1993, resigning in the wake of the unsuccessful 1993 general election.[1]

In a political comeback, he was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary under Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto from January 1996 to July 1998, and thereafter unsuccessfully challenged Keizo Obuchi for the presidency of the LDP.[1] In the midst of a financial crisis, Kajiyama advocated allowing large banks to fail through a "hard landing" policy, rather than providing government support to keep them afloat. Kajiyama's supporters in his "rebellion" included Yoshihide Suga, who would later serve as Chief Cabinet Secretary under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the 2010s.[3]

Kajiyama was involved in a traffic accident in January 2000, and retired from politics in April of that year. He later underwent treatment for clogged arteries, and died at a Tokyo hospital in June of that year. He was survived by his wife and two children.[1][4] One of his sons, Hiroshi Kajiyama, took over his Diet seat and later became a Cabinet minister.