In Memoriam ’25] Shigeru Ishiba looks back on Prime Minister Murayama: “Honest and sincere… there was no one who could say they disliked him.
Tombstone 2025] This year, too, a national star, a famous actor, and a famous host have passed away. We bring you his words of regret along with his treasured photos.
Tomiichi Murayama
Passed away on October 17 at the age of 101
A man of integrity, he had no political rivals.
Shigeru Ishiba, politician
That was when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake happened. The Self-Defense Forces were late in mobilizing because of the initial delay caused by the difficulty in gathering information. Mr. Murayama was an honest man and said, “I am sorry for the delay in response. It was the first time it happened so early in the morning,” he apologized to the people. At the time, I was a young member of the opposition party who had only been elected three times. In a TV program I appeared on, I was told to “Resign immediately! I bit him. When I returned to the assemblyman’s lodgings that night, I found my voicemail light beeping. I played it back,
This is Prime Minister Murayama. You were angry with me for being so reckless, and I agree with you. I didn’t pay enough attention. I am very sorry.
I was surprised. I was surprised. I was surprised that the prime minister of the day would say such a thing to a brash young man, and I thought, “What an honest and nice person.
I have been a politician for 40 years and have never met a prime minister like that before or since. Even in Nagata-cho, there was no one who disliked Mr. Murayama. I heard that even after becoming prime minister, he flew economy and preferred to eat his daughter’s home-cooked meals rather than ryotei cuisine. He was honest, sincere, simple, and straightforward. That must have been the character of Tomiichi Murayama.
From the December 19 and 26, 2025 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Kyodo News