Yohei Kono, Former Japanese Politician Who Apologized for 'Comfort Women' Abuses, Dies at 89

Yohei Kono, one of Japan's most prominent moderate politicians, died Monday of old age, according to the office of his son, former Foreign Minister Taro Kono. Born in January 1937, he entered politics in 1967 following the death of his father, LDP lawmaker Ichiro Kono, and rose to hold several senior posts including chief cabinet secretary, LDP president, and speaker of the lower house. In 1993, as chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Kono issued what became known as the 'Kono Statement,' offering the Japanese government's 'sincere apologies and remorse' for the military's role in forcing tens of thousands of women into sexual slavery during World War II. The statement helped pave the way for a broader 1995 apology by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and was internationally regarded as a sign of Japan's reckoning with its wartime past. However, the statement drew sustained criticism from Japanese conservatives, particularly during the tenure of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who sought to revisit its conclusions; Kono consistently defended it, warning that attempts to 'whitewash historical facts' damage Japan's reputation. Even in retirement, Kono remained active as a backchannel diplomat, visiting China nearly every year and chairing the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade; at the time of his death, he had reportedly been considering leading a trade delegation to Beijing amid some of the worst Japan-China relations in years.