Japan’s former PM Tomiichi Murayama dies at 101

17 Oct 2025, 07:01 by Abhilasha · KalingaTV

Tokyo: Japan’s former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, famous for making a statement apologising over World War II, died on Friday aged 101.

The Socialist Party PM led a coalition government with longtime rival the Liberal Democratic Party in the mid-1990s and was most popularly known for making a statement apologising over World War II.

He was born on 3 March, 1924, in Oita Prefecture, Murayama served the armed forces at the end of World War II. He won his first Lower House election in 1972. In 1993, he became chairman of the Japan Socialist Party. In 1994, Murayama became the 81st prime minister of Japan.

On June 29, 1994, Murayama became the 81st prime minister of Japan, leading a coalition government that also included the LDP and a smaller party called Sakigake.

Tomiichi Murayama, the father of Japanese politics passed away today at 11.28 am at the hospital in the Oita city at the age of 101. Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party, seen as the successor to Murayama’s now defunct Socialist Party, said on X.

Japan’s former PM Tomiichi Murayama dies at 101

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