“Kakuei Tanaka is credited with being the pioneer of dialogue with the Middle Kingdom. There is a lesson here for today’s leaders”
Today marks the 45th anniversary of normalisation of Sino-Japanese ties. This was achieved when then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka undertook his country’s maiden voyage to the People’s Republic of China just two months after assuming the premiership back in July 1972. Thus Tanaka is credited with being the pioneer of dialogue with the Middle Kingdom. Little wonder, then, that he is considered to be one of the greatest statesmen of Japan’s post-war history.
