Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda has died, ruling party sources said Friday. He was 79.
The seasoned lawmaker served in key posts in the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including chief Cabinet secretary.
Hosoda graduated from the University of Tokyo’s faculty of law and worked for the then international trade and industry ministry.
After serving as a secretary to his father, the late Lower House lawmaker Kichizo Hosoda, he won his first parliamentary seat from the then Shimane Prefecture constituency in the 1990 Lower House election. Hosoda was elected 11 times in a row.