Prime Minister
Miyazawa became Prime Minister on 5 November 1991, and gained brief fame in the United States when President George H. W. Bush vomited in his lap and fainted during a state dinner on 8 January 1992.
His government passed a law allowing Japan to send its forces overseas for peacekeeping missions as well as negotiating a trade agreement with the United States. It also introduced financial reforms to address the growing economic malaise in Japan in the 1990s.
Miyazawa resigned in 1993 after losing a vote of no confidence marking an end to 38 years of Liberal Democratic Party government.
A leading figure in the Trilateral Commission from its beginning, he became acting Japanese chairman in late 1993. He passed the baton to Yotaro Kobayashi in January 1997.
Read more about this topic: Kiichi Miyazawa
Famous quotes containing the words prime and/or minister:
“Being prime minister is a lonely job.... you cannot lead from the crowd.”
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)