was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan

Prime Minister of Japan

The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...

 from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.

Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology

is a national university in Japan. The main campus is located in Minato, Tokyo and another campus is in Koto, Tokyo.- History :...

 in 1935. He joined the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Japan)

Liberal Party is the name of different political parties in different time periods in Japan.They are:*Liberal Party of Japan , founded by Itagaki Taisuke in October 1881. The party stood for popular rights and espoused the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The main objective of the party in the...

 in 1948, and helped merged it with another right of center party to establish the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

 (LDP) in 1955.

Suzuki was appointed Prime Minister following the sudden death of Masayoshi Ōhira

Masayoshi Ohira

was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....

, who died of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 during a general election campaign. The sympathy vote generated by Ohira's death resulted in a landslide for the ruling LDP, handing Suzuki the largest parliament

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

ary majority any Prime Minister had enjoyed for many years. He chose not to run for reelection to the presidency of the LDP in 1982, and was succeeded by Yasuhiro Nakasone

Yasuhiro Nakasone

is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...

.

He served during a period of instability; Cabinet members frequently changed, and parties were often split by fractional politics. His diplomatic skills allowed him to chair his party's executive council ten times, winning him support in his early career. Despite his foreign policy gaffes as prime minister, he later helped further foreign relations with the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, during a 1988 summit with Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

.

He was born in Yamada, Iwate

Yamada, Iwate

is a town located in Shimohei District, Iwate, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 20,413 and a population density of 77.49 persons per km². The total area is 263.44 km²....

 and died at the International Medical Center of Japan, in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

. His son Shunichi Suzuki

Shunichi Suzuki (politician)

is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Iwate Prefecture and graduate of Waseda University, he was elected for the first time in 1990....

currently serves in the Diet.