Continuously hospitalized in a “special room” costing several hundred thousand yen a month… The last days of a “Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly don” who had enjoyed a prosperous career

Mr. Uchida had been hospitalized since the summer because of health problems. He was hospitalized in a special room at the Jikei University Hospital. The hospitalization cost several hundred thousand yen a month, and his family lamented that they could not keep up with the money,” said a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member.

On December 21, Shigeru Uchida, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member of the Liberal Democratic Party, passed away. He was 83 years old and had served as the chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and secretary general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Federation of the Liberal Democratic Party, and continued to exert a strong influence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

In 2003, Uchida’s wife’s funeral was held at Zojoji Temple in Shiba, and the chairman of the funeral committee was former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Thousands of people gathered, including Taro Aso, Toshihiro Nikai, and other important figures from the political and business worlds, as well as related parties. Their influence was enormous.

A turning point came in 2004. When Yuriko Koike became governor of Tokyo, Uchida was dubbed the “Don of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly,” and their confrontation drew daily media coverage.

Uchida retired from politics in 2005, but he remained influential, serving as the LDP’s chief advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In 2009, Uchida’s daughter-in-law ran for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, but was defeated by Keisho Taira, the wife of Japanese soccer star Yuto Nagatomo and brother of celebrity Airi Taira, and her influence gradually declined.

He was already concerned about his health even when he was battling with Koike,” said Mr. Kato. He was already in his late 70s by then, and he had gout and diabetes. It was once reported that he was in a wheelchair at the Jikei Medical University Hospital. After his wife passed away, his daughter mainly took care of him,” said a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member.

Uchida’s wake and funeral will be held on December 26 and 27. The location is said to be Zojoji Temple in Shiba, where his wife’s funeral service was held seven years ago.