Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party out of which he split his faction into the Party for Japanese Kokoro, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranationalist, he was infamous for his misogynistic comments, his racist remarks, his xenophobic views and his hatred of Chinese and Koreans, including his use of the antiquated pejorative term "sangokujin". He was also a denier of the Nanjing Massacre.
Kantei Public Affairs Office portrait c. 2003
Ishihara family; from left to right: Kiyoshi (father), Yūjirō (youngest brother), Mitsuko (mother), and Shintaro
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and U.S. Navy Commander Joseph Deleon at the Emergency Drill in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, in September 2006
Ishihara at the Tokyo Governor's office (2009)
The Japan Restoration Party , also referred to in English as the Japan Restoration Association, was a Japanese political party. It was launched on 12 September 2012 and gained official recognition on 28 September 2012. The party grew from the regional Osaka Restoration Association, headed by Tōru Hashimoto, Mayor of Osaka, and Ichirō Matsui, Governor of Osaka Prefecture.
Image: Toru Hashimoto Ishin IMG 5731 20130713 (cropped)
Image: Ishihara Shintaro 1 1
Image: Ishihara Shintaro 1 1
Image: Toru Hashimoto Ishin IMG 5731 20130713 (cropped)