Late PM Murayama Remembered in Farewell Event

Oita, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–A farewell ceremony for former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who died in October at the age of 101, was held in the southwestern city of Oita on Saturday. About 600 people attended the ceremony, including House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga and Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, which Murayama once led. “He led national politics at a difficult time of change,” Nukaga said in his eulogy. “His achievements were truly great.” The ceremony was hosted by the Oita city and prefectural governments. Participants spoke to a portrait of the former prime minister, affectionately calling him “Ton-chan.” In 1994, Murayama became the 81st prime minister of Japan after forming a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and another party. The following year, he issued a landmark statement for the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, expressing “deep remorse” and a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s past “colonial rule and aggression.” The SDP plans to hold its own memorial ceremony for Murayama in Tokyo next March. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]