Yasuhiro Nakasone, who served as prime minister for more than five years in the 1980s, was one of Japan’s leading postwar politicians. This book is a biography of him but, by interweaving in international politics and media appraisals of him, it also serves as an examination of Japan’s postwar politics.

List of Tables List of AcronymsUsage NotesIntroduction 1 Nakasone’s Youth: From Lumber to the Home Ministry 2 Deployment and Defeat: A Lieutenant in the Navy 3 The “Young Officer”: Nakasone’s Time in the Opposition 4 The Conservative Merger and Nakasone’s First Cabinet Position: Director-General of the Science and TechnologyAgency under Kishi 5 From “Killing Time” to Becoming a Faction Leader 6 “Autonomous Defense” and the Three Non-Nuclear Principles: Nakasone under Satō–Minister of Transportation and Director-General of the Defense Agency 7 “Neoliberalism” and the Oil Crisis: MITI Minister in the Tanaka Government 8 The “Sankaku Daifuku Chū” Era: LDP Secretary-General, General Council Chairman, and Director-General of the Administrative Management Agency 9 1,806 Days as Prime Minister: Seeking to Be a “Presidential Prime Minister” I. Tanaka Kakuei’s Shadow and the Results of Proactive Diplomacy: Nakasone’s First Term II. “Pacific Cooperation” and Privatization: Nakasone’s Second Term III. The Weight of 304 Seats: Nakasone’s Third Term 10 “Rain of Cicada Cries”: The 32 Years after Being Prime Minister Conclusion Timeline Index