Hajime Tamura


Hajime Tamura was a Japanese politician. He held different cabinet posts and served as the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Tamura was born in Matsuzaka, Mie Prefecture, in 1924. In 1950, he received a law degree from Keio University.

Career and activities

Tamura was a member of the House of Representatives to which he was first elected in 1955. He was appointed labour minister in 1972 and transport minister in 1976.
He served as minister of international trade and industry from 1986 to 1988 in the cabinets led by Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and then by Noboru Takeshita. When he was in office he apologized to the United States for an export violation committed by a Japanese manufacturer. In a reshuffle in December 1988 Hiroshi Mitsuzuka replaced Tamura as minister of international trade and industry. Tamura became Speaker of the House of Representatives on 2 June 1989, replacing Kenzaburo Hara in the post. Tamura's term ended on 24 January 1990 when Yoshio Sakurauchi was appointed speaker.
Tamura, nicknamed the “wheeler-dealer” in political arena, retired from politics in 1996.

Personal life and death

Tamura was married and has three daughters. Tamura died of natural causes on 1 November 2014 at age 90.