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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Tsuneo Watanabe, far right, speaks to the Liberal Democratic Party’s Banboku Ono, center, during his time as a reporter in The Yomiuri Shimbun’s political department.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
19:23 JST, December 20, 2024
Tsuneo Watanabe, representative director and editor-in-chief of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, who died Thursday, had built deep relationships with successive prime ministers and demonstrated his presence as a mentor to those serving in the post.
As a political journalist, he developed a wide network of connections in the political world, spanning both the ruling and opposition parties. He was involved in the concept of a grand coalition, which emerged in 2007 between the Liberal Democratic Party and the then Democratic Party of Japan under the administration of then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
“He was a newspaper reporter who moved politicians and the political situation,” former Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose grandfather Shigeru Yoshida was also prime minister, said of Watanabe on Thursday.
Watanabe, who died at 98, covered successive prime ministers from Yoshida onward and developed personal relationships with them, allowing him to remain at the forefront of postwar politics. He was known for his deep involvement in politics and diplomacy during his time as a reporter covering the then LDP Vice President Banboku Ono, who had emerged as a prominent figure.
Watanabe gained the trust of former Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama by frequently visiting his private residence known as the Otowa Goten (Palace) and even played with his grandsons, including Yukio, who later became prime minister.
“I heard that we used to climb on top [of Mr. Watanabe] and play with him,” Yukio Hatoyama said. “He doted on us a lot.”
Watanabe was on particularly good terms with former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. They were members of a book club where they studied politics and international relations.
Nakasone’s eldest son Hirofumi, former foreign minister, said, “[Watanabe] was a close, like-minded friend [to my father]. They were always concerned about the future of Japan and working hard together while sharing the same ambitions.”
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, far right, addresses the National Council on Promotion of Measures for Declining Birthrate with Tsuneo Watanabe, center, in attendance as a member in June 1999.
Former LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said: “I heard many stories from Mr. Watanabe, including about a weekly book club he held with former Prime Minister Nakasone. Mr. Watanabe was a hard worker and a lifelong journalist. He was a living witness to post-war politics, and we have lost a very important person.”
Fukuda remembered Watanabe in his statement released Thursday saying, “I thought, ‘there really is an amazing journalist out there.’”
Fukuda recalled a time when Watanabe visited his house and spoke with his father Takeo, who was the then LDP secretary general.
“Since then, I had also received advice from him in various situations,” Fukuda said. “There are still some secret discussions that cannot be revealed.”
During Fukuda’s time as prime minister, Watanabe acted as an intermediary between Fukuda and then DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa in an effort to form a grand coalition.
Former House of Representatives Speaker Bunmei Ibuki, who was the then LDP secretary general, said “Watanabe had a patriotic mind and thought that political decisions should always be made based on what is best for the country and people, beyond beliefs, opinions or party affiliations.”
Ozawa said regretfully, “If we had formed a grand coalition at that time, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan would have grown into a more established political party.”
