Yasuo Fukuda is a former Prime Minister of Japan. After graduating from Waseda University in 1959, he joined a petroleum company and worked there until 1976 when he became a secretary to the Prime Minister and concurrently a trustee of a foundation. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 and served as a Diet member until 2012. During this period, he served as the LDP Chairman of the Finance Committee. From 2000-2004 he was the Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi.
Mr. Fukuda became Japan’s 58th Prime Minister in September 2007. Aiming to build a sustainable society and to transform politics and governance to place more emphasis on the concerns of the people, he promoted a shift to a new policy approach that included launching the Consumer Affairs Agency and designating Environmental Model Cities. In the diplomatic sphere, he led efforts to raise global public awareness of environmental issues at the G-8 Summit and projected a direction for the new Japan-China relationship in the 21st century by signing the “Fourth Political Document” between the two countries.
Since leaving official public life, Mr. Fukuda has been working for friendly and cooperative relations between Japan and other countries. His most notable effort in this area is serving as president of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia. He also plays an important role in the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum (NATF), serves as the Chairman of the Asian Population and Development Association, and leads many other bilateral friendship associations.