Takahiro Yokomichi, who served as the speaker of the House of Representatives and the governor of Hokkaido, passed away due to illness on the 2nd of this month.
he was 82 years old.
Mr. Yokomichi is from Sapporo City and worked as a lawyer after graduating from university.
In the 1969 House of Representatives election, he ran for the former Hokkaido 1st District as a member of the Socialist Party at the time and was elected for the first time, serving as a member of the House of Representatives for five consecutive terms.
Also known as the "Prince of the Socialist Party," he pursued the government over documents suggesting that a "secret pact" had been exchanged in which Japan shouldered the costs originally borne by the United States when Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972.
After serving three terms as Governor of Hokkaido from 1983, he returned to national politics and served a total of 12 terms as a member of the House of Representatives.
During this time, Mr. Yokomichi ran for the Democratic Party's representative election in 2002 and continued to have influence within the party, and in 2005, he was appointed vice chairman of the House of Representatives.
In 2009, with the inauguration of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration, he became the first member of the Democratic Party to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, and served for three years.
He did not run for the House of Representatives election in 2017 and retired from politics.
Mr. Yokomichi passed away on the 2nd of this month, although he had been receiving medical treatment for his illness.
According to his relatives, the funeral will be held only by relatives at the request of his bereaved family, and a "farewell party" will be held around May this year.