TOKYO: It is somehow fitting in a country known for longevity that one of Japan’s most prominent former leaders has reached 100 years of age.
As a World War II naval officer, Yasuhiro Nakasone (pic) witnessed the depths of his country’s utter defeat and devastation. Four decades later he presided over Japan in the 1980s at the pinnacle of its economic success. In recent years, he has lobbied for revision of the war-renouncing, US-drafted constitution, a long-time cause that neither he nor any successor has achieved to date.