View source for Morihiro Hosokawa

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994}}
{{Eastern name order|Hosokawa Morihiro}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Morihiro Hosokawa
| native_name         = {{nobold|細川 護熙}}
| native_name_lang    = ja
| image               = Morihiro Hosokawa 19930809.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1993
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch             = [[Akihito]]
| term_start          = 9 August 1993
| term_end            = 28 April 1994
| predecessor         = [[Kiichi Miyazawa]]
| successor           = [[Tsutomu Hata]]
| office1             = [[Japan New Party|Leader of the New Party]]
| term_start1         = 22 May 1992
| term_end1           = 9 December 1994
| predecessor1        = ''Party established''
| successor1          = [[New Frontier Party (Japan)|''Party abolished'']]
| office2             = [[List of governors of Kumamoto Prefecture|Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture]]
| monarch2            = [[Hirohito]]<br>Akihito
| term_start2         = 11 February 1983
| term_end2           = 10 February 1991
| predecessor2        = Issei Sawada
| successor2          = Joji Fukushima
| office3             = Member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]
| constituency3       = [[Kumamoto 1st district (1947–1993)|Former Kumamoto 1st]]{{efn|Between 1947 and 1996, Hosakawa's constituency was a multi-member district elected through SNTV. After the [[1994 Japanese electoral reform]], mandating the abolition of all multi-member House of Representative district, Hosakawa was re-elected to the synonymous Kumamoto 1st District, which was a single-member constituency elected through FPTP, in 1996 general election. The two constituencies are fundamentally different from each other, only with their identical name. |name= Kumamoto 1st district}}  (1993–1996)<br>[[Kumamoto 1st district|Kumamoto 1st]] (1996–1998)
| term_start3         = 18 July 1993
| term_end3           = 7 May 1998
| predecessor3        = Shōichi Tanaka
| successor3          = Eiichi Iwashita
| office4             = Member of the [[House of Councillors]]
| constituency4       = [[Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block|National PR]]
| term_start4         = 26 July 1992
| term_end4           = 4 July 1993
| predecessor4        = ''Multi-member district''
| successor4          = Keizō Kojima
| constituency5       = [[House of Councillors national district|National district]] (1971–1977)<br>[[Kumamoto at-large district|Kumamoto at-large]] (1977–1983)
| term_start5         = 4 July 1971
| term_end5           = 11 February 1983
| predecessor5        = ''Multi-member district''
| successor5          = Masaru Urata
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1938|1|14|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Tokyo]], [[Empire of Japan]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party of Japan|Democratic]] (1998–2016)
| otherparty          = [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]] (until 1992)<br />[[Japan New Party|JNP]] (1992–1994)<br />[[New Frontier Party (Japan)|NFP]] (1994–1997)<br />[[From Five]] (1997–1998)<br />[[Good Governance Party|GGP]] (1998)
| relatives           = [[Tadateru Konoe]] (brother)
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Kayoko Ueda|23 October 1971}}
| children            = 3 (including [[Morimitsu Hosokawa|Morimitsu]])
| alma_mater          = [[Sophia University]]
| signature           = Morihiro Hosokawa signature.svg
}}
{{Nihongo|'''Morihiro Hosokawa'''|細川 護煕|Hosokawa Morihiro|born 14 January 1938}} is a Japanese politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister of Japan]] from 1993 to 1994. He led an eight-party [[coalition government]] which was the first Japanese government not headed by a [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP) premier since 1955.

Born to the [[Hosokawa clan|Hosokawa family]], which ruled present-day [[Kumamoto Prefecture]] from the 17th to the 19th centuries, Hosokawa is also a grandson of Prince [[Fumimaro Konoe]] through his mother. He graduated from [[Sophia University]] before working at the [[The Asahi Shimbun|''Asahi Shimbun'']] newspaper, and was elected to the [[National Diet]] in 1971 before leaving to serve as governor of his home prefecture from 1983 to 1991. 

In 1992, Hosokawa left the LDP to found the reformist [[Japan New Party]], which won 35 seats in the [[1993 Japanese general election|1993 general election]]. The LDP lost its governing majority, which was replaced by an eight-party coalition led by Hosokawa. He initiated electoral reforms before [[Tsutomu Hata]]'s [[Japan Renewal Party]] took over leadership of the coalition in 1994. Hosokawa joined the [[New Frontier Party (Japan)|New Frontier Party]] in 1996 and [[Democratic Party of Japan]] (DPJ) in 1998 before retiring from politics. He unsuccessfully ran for [[Governor of Tokyo]] in 2014.<ref name="jt0110">{{cite news|last=Yoshida|first=Reiji|title=Any Hosokawa presence in Tokyo race bad for Abe|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/01/10/national/any-hosokawa-presence-in-tokyo-race-bad-for-abe/#.UtIeTvbTlRQ|access-date=12 January 2014|newspaper=The Japan Times|date=10 January 2014}}</ref> 

Since his father's death in 2005, he has been the 18th head of the main branch of Hosokawa clan, which held the title of Lord of Higo and marquess. Since retiring from politics, he has been active as a potter and tea master.

==Early life and education==
Morihiro Hosokawa was born in Tokyo as the eldest grandson of [[Moritatsu, 3rd Marquess Hosokawa]], and head of the [[Hosokawa clan]]. His maternal grandfather is the former prime minister Prince [[Fumimaro Konoe]] (1937–1939, 1940–1941).<ref name="goozner0730">{{cite news|last=Goozner|first=Merrill|title=A Party Rebel Will Assume Reins In Japan|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/07/30/a-party-rebel-will-assume-reins-in-japan/|access-date=14 January 2014|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=30 July 1993}}</ref> As a great-great-grandson of [[Prince Kuni Asahiko]], he is a third cousin of the present emperor, [[Naruhito]].<ref name=descent>{{cite web|url=https://reichsarchiv.jp/%e5%ae%b6%e7%b3%bb%e3%83%aa%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88/%e7%b4%b0%e5%b7%9d%e6%b0%8f%ef%bc%88%e8%82%a5%e5%be%8c%e7%86%8a%e6%9c%ac%e8%97%a9%e4%b8%bb%e5%ae%b6%ef%bc%89#moritat|title=Hosokawa genealogy|website=Reichsarchiv|access-date=29 August 2017|language=ja}}</ref> He is also a descendant of Christian heroine [[Gracia Hosokawa]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3524 | title=NIRC }}</ref>

Hosokawa received his [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]] degree from [[Sophia University]] in 1961.

==Political career==
After working for the newspaper ''[[Asahi Shimbun]]'' as journalist for five years, he made an unsuccessful run in the [[1969 Japanese general election|1969 general election]]. He was elected to the [[House of Councillors of Japan]] as an LDP representative of [[Kumamoto Prefecture]] in 1971, with his campaign funded by party boss [[Kakuei Tanaka]].<ref name="goozner0730" />

After serving two terms in the [[National Diet]], Hosokawa left in 1983 to become the governor of Kumamoto, where he served until 1991. During his term as governor, he complained about the powerful bureaucracy of the central government. Hosokawa pursued an aggressive economic policy and strengthened environmental laws.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hosokawa-Morihiro|title=Hosokawa Morihiro {{!}} prime minister of Japan|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-11-30}}</ref> In May 1992, an ongoing campaign contribution scandal inspired him to form the reformist [[Japan New Party]] (JNP), which won four seats (one of which Hosokawa assumed) in the [[1992 Japanese House of Councillors election|1992 House of Councillors election]].<ref name="goozner0730" />

==Premiership (1993–1994)==
{{seealso|Hosokawa Cabinet}}
[[File:Morihiro Hosokawa 19930927.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hosokawa at the [[United Nations General Assembly]] on September 27, 1993]]
In the [[1993 Japanese general election|July 1993 general election]], in a change very few had foreseen even a year earlier, the LDP lost its majority in the Diet for the first time in thirty-eight years, winning only 223 out of 511 seats in the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]. The previous LDP government of [[Kiichi Miyazawa]] was replaced by an eight-party [[Hosokawa Cabinet|coalition government]] which promised a series of social, political, and economic reforms. Excluding the [[Japanese Communist Party|JCP]], the coalition was backed by all of the former opposition parties, which included the newly formed JNP, the [[Japan Socialist Party]], the [[Japan Renewal Party]] (Shinseito), [[Komeito]], the [[Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)|Democratic Socialist Party]], the [[Socialist Democratic Federation (Japan)|Socialist Democratic Federation]], the [[RENGO]] and the [[New Party Sakigake]], who together controlled 243 seats in the House of Representatives. Hosokawa, one of the major voices in forming the coalition, was chosen as the new Prime Minister.

[[Walter Mondale]], then the US ambassador to Japan, characterized Hosokawa as having a "Kennedy-esque" ability to focus on ideals; nonetheless, Hosokawa's coalition had no common ideas other than their opposition to the LDP, which undermined Hosokawa throughout his term as prime minister. He was also at odds with Japan's bureaucracy, which he sought to reform after decades of bureaucratic entrenchment under the LDP.<ref name="sanger">{{cite news|last=Sanger|first=David|title=Profile in Political Descent: Japan's Once-Rising Star|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/weekinreview/conversations-morihiro-hosokawa-profile-political-descent-japan-s-once-rising.html|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=10 April 1994}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Morihiro Hosokawa and Boris Yeltsin 199310.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hosokawa with [[Boris Yeltsin]], [[Hirohisa Fujii]] and [[Masayoshi Takemura]] in October 1993]]
[[File:APEC Summit 1993 - Bill Clinton and Morihiro Hosokawa.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hosokawa with [[Bill Clinton]] at [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation|APEC]] Summit in November 1993]]
Hosokawa made several unprecedented moves toward atonement with Japan's Asian neighbors during his term as prime minister. In his first news conference in office, he made an unprecedented statement acknowledging that Japan waged a war of aggression in [[World War II]].

Hosokawa later said: "You can obviously define 'aggression' in any number of ways, depending on context. But if you have any common sense, you just cannot say in good conscience that Japan was not the aggressor when Japan did in fact cause tremendous anguish and loss of life in China, Korea and Southeast Asian nations in order to protect its own interests. I knew my opinion was going to invite heated controversy."<ref name="wakamiya">{{cite news|last=Wakamiya|first=Yoshibumi|title=Morihiro Hosokawa: Genuine nationalism includes tolerance, respect|url=http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201009030509.html|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun|date=4 September 2010}}</ref>

On 6 November 1993, he visited [[South Korea]], where he had a summit with President [[Kim Young-sam]] in [[Gyeongju]] and again offered a clear apology to the Korean people for Japan's actions in the war, statements which were widely applauded in Korea. Hosokawa viewed the [[Japanese annexation of Korea]] as wrong and rejected the right-wing view in Japan that it was with Korea's consent and was beneficial to Korea.<ref name="wakamiya" /> On 19 March 1994, he visited [[China]], and the two governments signed an agreement of cooperation in environmental protection.

In May 1994, right-wing extremist Masakatsu Nozoe fired a gunshot into the ceiling of a Tokyo hotel where Hosokawa was giving a speech, in apparent protest at Hosokawa's statements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gunman Fires At Japanese Leader|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-05-31/news/9405300167_1_hosokawa-s-successor-extremist-right-wing-group-tsutomu-hata|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110091148/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-05-31/news/9405300167_1_hosokawa-s-successor-extremist-right-wing-group-tsutomu-hata|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2014|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=31 May 1994}}</ref>

Hosokawa's acts toward China and Korea inspired Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]] to apologize to Hosokawa for the Soviet detention of Japanese prisoners of war in Siberia. Hosokawa later speculated that if both men had remained in office longer [[Russian-Japanese relations]] would have improved significantly.<ref name="wakamiya" /> Hosokawa also had a good personal relationship with [[Bill Clinton]], but trade disputes between Japan and the United States dominated [[US-Japan relations]] during Hosokawa's tenure.<ref name="sanger" />

===Domestic policy===
The Hosokawa government pushed for changes to Japanese election laws intended to fight political corruption, including elimination of corporate political donations to individual candidates and a redrawing of the electoral system, both intended to prevent the LDP from continuing to employ its past electoral practices. After an extended legislative fight, the LDP was able to force several concessions to maintain their advantage, retaining corporate political donations with a cap, while pushing back on some more radical changes to the electoral map and ensuring that most candidates would keep essentially the same seats in the next election.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goozner|first=Merrill|title=Japanese Leader Aims For Reforms Hosokawa Compromise May Delay Agenda|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-01-30/news/9401300010_1_hosokawa-political-reform-japan-s-new-leader|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110090739/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-01-30/news/9401300010_1_hosokawa-political-reform-japan-s-new-leader|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2014|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=30 January 1994}}</ref> These compromises had a negative impact on the public approval of the Hosokawa coalition.<ref>{{cite news|last=Braude|first=Jonathan|title=Japan starts to change|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/61401/japan-starts-change|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=South China Morning Post|date=31 January 1994}}</ref>

A law of December 1993 amending the Basic Law on measures for physically and mentally disabled persons of 1970 aimed to promote the independence of disabled people and their participation in activities in any field such as culture, the economy, and community affairs. Amendments made to regulations under the Industrial Safety and Health Law of 1972 on 30 March 1994 included accidents involving the collapsing of cranes and breaking of wires that needed to be reported to the authorities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_sortby=SORTBY_DATE&p_country=JPN&p_country_all_any=ALL&p_keyword_all_any=ALL&p_start=201&p_increment=50|title = Results list of Browse by country - NATLEX}}</ref>  On 1 April 1994, a 40-hour workweek was introduced.<ref>Japanese employment and labor law by Kazuo Sugeno</ref>

Hosokawa also enacted cuts in income and resident taxes, intended to help Japan out of the recession that had followed the [[Japanese asset price bubble]] of the late 1980s and early 1990s. After pressure from the finance ministry, the government compensated for these cuts by announcing an increase in the [[consumption tax]] from 3% to 7%, effective from 1997. The move was controversial within the cabinet, as [[Ichiro Ozawa]] favored a 10% rate while the [[Japan Socialist Party]] would not agree to an increase. Hosokawa announced the increase but retracted the announcement the next day, leaving the tax at 3%. The government's response to the issue weakened its hold on power and was said to hasten its demise. The tax was eventually increased to 5% in 1997 by LDP Prime Minister [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Fragile position: Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/02/03/fragile-position-prime-minister-morihiro-hosokawa-announced/|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=3 February 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Schlesinger|first=Jacob|title=Consumption Tax Hikes: A Short, Unhappy History|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/06/17/consumption-tax-hikes-a-short-unhappy-history/|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time|date=17 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Nishiyama|first=George|title=Flashback: Ozawa's Tax-Hike Twist|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/07/04/flashback-ozawas-tax-hike-twist/|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time|date=4 July 2012}}</ref>

===Resignation===
Hosokawa was forced to resign in April 1994 after it came to light that he had accepted a 100-million-yen loan from a trucking company previously accused of bribery and links to organized crime. Amid allegations of bribery, Hosokawa argued that the money was a loan and produced a receipt to show that he had paid it back; LDP members passed around a copy remarking that it looked like a fake.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Although Hosokawa still had high public approval at the time, opinion was growing that he could not meet the expectations set at the start of his term.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barr|first=Cameron|title=Fending Off Accusations of Impropriety, Japan Premier Faces Pressure to Resign|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1994/0408/08013.html|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=8 April 1994}}</ref>

Hosokawa's resignation was abrupt and led to a number of frenzied meetings aimed at saving the coalition, which was torn between the rival camps of [[Ichiro Ozawa]] and [[Masayoshi Takemura]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan's Ruling Coalition In Peril As Conservatives Boycott Meeting|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-04-12/news/9404110400_1_party-heads-ruling-coalition-ichiro-ozawa|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140110103714/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-04-12/news/9404110400_1_party-heads-ruling-coalition-ichiro-ozawa|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2014|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=12 April 1994}}</ref> After his resignation, the coalition was taken over by the Shinseito president [[Tsutomu Hata]].

===Cabinet===
The [[Hosokawa Cabinet]] was a product of his multi-party coalition but was dominated by individuals viewed as conservatives. Its key ministers were members of the [[Shinseito]] party led by [[Ichiro Ozawa]]. Hosokawa's own [[Japan New Party]] had no other representatives in the cabinet.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Terry|title=Hosokawa plays safe with cabinet: Japanese PM chooses conservative team committed to continuity in economic and foreign policy|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/hosokawa-plays-safe-with-cabinet-japanese-pm-chooses-conservative-team-committed-to-continuity-in-economic-and-foreign-policy-1460233.html|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=The Independent|date=10 August 1993}}</ref>

[[File:Hosokawa Government 19930809.jpg|thumb|200px|Hosokawa with the Ministers of the Hosokawa Government (at the garden of the [[Prime Minister's Official Residence (Japan)|Prime Minister's Official Residence]] on 9 August 1993)]]
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:85%;"
|+ Cabinet of Morihiro Hosokawa
! scope=row | [[Chief Cabinet Secretary]] 
| [[Masayoshi Takemura]] (Sakigake)
|-
! scope=row | [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Foreign Affairs]] 
| [[Tsutomu Hata]] (Shinseito)
|-
! scope=row | Justice
| [[Akira Mikazuki]] (non-affiliated)
|-
! scope=row | Finance
| [[Hirohisa Fujii]] (Shinseito)
|-
! scope=row | Education
| [[Yoko Akamatsu]] (non-affiliated)
|-
! scope=row | Health and Welfare
| [[Keigo Ouchi]] (Democratic Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Labor
| [[Chikara Sakaguchi]] (Komeito)
|-
! scope=row | Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
| [[Eijiro Hata]] (Shinseito)
|-
! scope=row | International Trade and Industry
| [[Hiroshi Kumagai]] (Shinseito)
|-
! scope=row | Transport
| [[Shigeru Ito]] (Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Construction
| [[Kozo Igarashi]] (Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Home Affairs and [[National Public Safety Commission (Japan)|National Public Safety Commission]]
| [[Kanju Sato]] (Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Posts and Telecommunications
| [[Takenori Kanzaki]] (Komeito)
|-
! scope=row | [[Management and Coordination Agency]]
| [[Koshiro Ishida]] (Komeito)
|-
! scope=row | [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japan Defense Agency]]
| [[Hiroyoshi Nakanishi]] (Shinseito) until 1 December 1993<br />[[Kazuo Aichi]] (Shinseito) after 2 December 1993
|-
! scope=row | [[Hokkaido Development Agency|Hokkaido]] and [[Okinawa Development Agency|Okinawa]] Development, [[National Land Agency]]
| [[Kosuke Uehara]] (Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | [[Economic Planning Agency]]
| [[Manae Kubota]] (Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Environment
| [[Wakako Hironaka]] (Komeito)
|-
! scope=row | [[Council for Science and Technology Policy]]
| [[Satsuki Eda]] (Democratic Socialist)
|-
! scope=row | Minister of State
| [[Sadao Yamahana]] (Socialist)
|}

== Later political life ==

Hosokawa joined the [[New Frontier Party (Japan)|New Frontier Party]] in 1994 but, following further disputes with [[Ichiro Ozawa]], left in 1997 with four other legislators who formed the short-lived [[From Five]] party. In 1998, From Five merged into the [[Good Governance Party]], which itself merged into the [[Democratic Party of Japan]] (DPJ) later that year.

After the LDP returned to power in 1994, Hosokawa teamed up with [[Junichiro Koizumi]] of the LDP and [[Shusei Tanaka]] of [[New Party Sakigake]] in a strategic dialogue across party lines regarding Japan becoming a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. Although this idea was not popular within the LDP and never came to fruition, Hosokawa and Koizumi maintained a close working relationship in subsequent years. Hosokawa tacitly served as Koizumi's personal envoy to China at times of strained [[Sino-Japanese relations]] during Koizumi's term as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=「細川・小泉」あるか２度目の連携|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK09013_Z00C14A1000000/?dg=1|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=日本経済新聞|date=9 January 2014}}</ref>

Hosokawa retired from politics in 1998 at the age of 60. In his retirement, he took up [[pottery]], studying intensively for 18 months under pottery master [[Shiro Tsujimura]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.veniceclayartists.com/master-potter-shiro-tsujimura-teaches-prime-minister/|title = Master Potter Shiro Tsujimura teaches Prime Minister|date = 24 March 2013}}</ref> Hosokawa's pottery has been exhibited in [[Japan]] and [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/hosokawa-morihiro-jt.html |title=Hosokawa Morihiro - Former Japanese Prime Minister Turns to Ceramics |access-date=2014-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619100306/http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/hosokawa-morihiro-jt.html |archive-date=2014-06-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He uses his pottery for [[tea ceremony|tea ceremonies]] at a tea house originally constructed for a visit by [[Jacques Chirac]], which was cancelled due to the outbreak of the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="pottery">{{cite news|last=Pilling|first=David|title=Pottery with the FT: Morihiro Hosokawa|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e03a2ce2-7b6e-11e0-ae56-00144feabdc0|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Financial Times|date=13 May 2011}}</ref>  He is also a special consultant to ''[[The Japan Times]]''. Upon his father's death in 2005, Hosokawa succeeded him as the head of the Hosokawa family.

==Tokyo gubernatorial bid==
[[File:Hosokawa 2014-02-07.jpg|thumb|200px|Hosokawa campaigning (at [[Takadanobaba Station]] on February 7, 2014)]]
In 2014, at the age of 75, Hosokawa was approached by the DPJ to run in the [[2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election|Tokyo gubernatorial election]]. Although Hosokawa initially turned down their request, former Prime Minister [[Junichiro Koizumi]] encouraged him to run for the primary purpose of gathering public opposition to Prime Minister [[Shinzō Abe]]'s pro-nuclear policies, and Hosokawa again considered running for the office. This was initially perceived as a blow to [[Yōichi Masuzoe]], the LDP-supported candidate who was also supported by elements within the DPJ and who had previously been considered the lone front-runner in the race;<ref>{{cite news|title=都知事選、「原発争点」に自民警戒 小泉氏カギに 民主は「細川氏が最有力候補」|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFS0902J_Z00C14A1PP8000/?dg=1|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=日本経済新聞|date=10 January 2014}}</ref> the race between Masuzoe and Hosokawa became widely dubbed as a "proxy contest" between Abe and Koizumi.<ref>{{cite news|title=都知事選リードの舛添氏 急失速を招きかねない３つの"死角"|url=http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/politics/news/20140203/plt1402031537003-n1.htm|access-date=7 February 2014|newspaper=ZAKZAK|date=3 February 2014|quote=事実上、「安倍ｖｓ小泉」の代理戦争といわれた都知事選だが、舛添氏を支援する自民党幹部は「何とか勝てそうだ」と顔をほころばせた。}}</ref>

Hosokawa announced his candidacy alongside Koizumi on January 14.<ref>{{cite news|title=細川元首相が出馬表明「原発問題に危機感」 会談後、小泉氏「支援する」|url=http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/140114/stt14011413380004-n1.htm|access-date=14 January 2014|newspaper=MSN Sankei News|date=14 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114044943/http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/140114/stt14011413380004-n1.htm|archive-date=14 January 2014}}</ref> His campaign was supported by several key members of his 1993-94 coalition: [[Banri Kaieda]] and [[Ichirō Ozawa]], who had since become the heads of the [[Democratic Party of Japan]] and [[People's Life Party]] respectively, threw their support behind Hosokawa, while [[Shusei Tanaka]] and [[Yoriko Madoka]] were enlisted as his policy advisors.<ref>{{cite news|title=細川氏出馬、旧政権メンバーが再結集 都知事選|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNZO65191570R10C14A1PP8000/|access-date=13 January 2014|newspaper=日本経済新聞|date=11 January 2014}}</ref>

During his campaign, Hosokawa criticized the Abe government's nuclear policy, stating: "Tokyo is shoving nuclear power plants and nuclear waste to other regions, while enjoying the convenience (of electricity) as a big consumer." He also criticized Abe's foreign policy in the run-up to the [[2020 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo, questioning "whether pugnacious diplomacy will help the festival of peace to be held smoothly."<ref>{{cite news|last=Takenaka|first=Kiyoshi|title=Hosokawa questions Abe's energy policy, diplomacy|url=http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/hosokawa-questions-abes-energy-policy-diplomacy|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=Thomson Reuters|date=29 January 2014}}</ref>

Hosokawa failed to gain momentum and trailed behind Masuzoe in the polls through the final week of the campaign, with only a 30–40% support rating within the DPJ and PLP and particularly low support among women.<ref>{{cite news|title=Masuzoe ahead of pack in Tokyo gubernatorial race: Mainichi poll|url=http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140203p2a00m0na014000c.html|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun|date=3 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221055940/http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140203p2a00m0na014000c.html|archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref> Masuzoe was declared the winner in exit polls shortly after voting ended on February 9, but Hosokawa vowed to continue anti-nuclear advocacy.<ref>{{cite news|title=細川氏「脱原発、争点にならなかった」 都知事選|url=http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASG296WKZG29UEHF00P.html|access-date=9 February 2014|newspaper=Asahi Shimbun|date=9 February 2014}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Hosokawa lives in [[Yugawara, Kanagawa]].<ref name="pottery" /> His wife, Kayoko Hosokawa, to whom he has been married since 23 October 1971, served as honorary chair of the Special Olympics Nippon Foundation and headed NPOs devoted to providing vaccines to children in developing nations and helping the intellectually disabled.<ref>{{cite web|title=Message from Partner: Kayoko HOSOKAWA, Director of Special Olympics Japan|url=http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/csr/community/m_hosokawa.html|publisher=Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.|access-date=10 January 2014|archive-date=10 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110092910/http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/csr/community/m_hosokawa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He and Kayoko have three children: [[Morimitsu Hosokawa|Morimitsu]], Satoko and Yūko.<ref>{{Cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=1990|title=Who's Who in the World: 1991-1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92bJlWbPeKMC&q=%22Yoshiko+Konoe%22|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|page=491|isbn=9780837911106}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/127.html Policy speech to the 127th Session of the National Diet] 23 August 1993
* [http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/128.html Policy speech to the 128th Session of the National Diet] 21 September 1993
* [http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/129.html Policy speech to the 129th Session of the National Diet] 4 March 1994
* {{IMDb name|6278732}}
* {{C-SPAN|31405}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosokawa, Morihiro}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
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