Yasuo Fukuda
Fukuda was born in Takasaki, Gunma, the eldest son of politician (later the 67th Prime Minister) Takeo Fukuda. He grew up in Setagaya, Tokyo, attending Azabu High School and graduating from Waseda University in 1959 with a degree in economics. After university, he joined Maruzen Petroleum (now part of the Cosmo Oil Company). He was only minimally involved in politics over the next seventeen years, working his way up to section chief as a typical Japanese "salaryman". He was posted to the United States from 1962-64. While his father Takeo Fukuda was prime minister from 1976–78, Yasuo became a political secretary. From 1978 to 1989, he was a director of the Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, serving as a trustee from 1986 onward.
History of Japanese foreign relations
Prince Katsura Tarō (1848 – 1913) was an unpopular prime minister in his three terms stretching off and on from 1901 to 1911. During his first term (1901-1906) Japan emerged as a major imperialist power in East Asia. In terms of foreign affairs, it was marked by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 and victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. During his tenure, the Taft–Katsura agreement with the U.S. acknowledged Japanese hegemony over Korea. His second term (1908-1911) was noteworthy for the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910.
The Japanese modelled their industrial economy closely on the most advanced European models. They started with textiles, railways, and shipping, expanding to electricity and machinery. the most serious weakness was a shortage of raw materials. Industry ran short of copper and coal became a net importer. A deep flaw in the aggressive military strategy was a heavy dependence on imports including 100 percent of the aluminum, 85 percent of the iron ore, and especially 79 percent of the oil supplies. it was one thing to go to war with China or Russia, but quite another to be in conflict with the key suppliers, especially the United States Britain and the Netherlands, which supply the oil and iron.